S. Korea Reports First Human Case of Tick-Born Virus

Seoul, May 21 (BNA) - South Korea has reported the first confirmed case of a person infected with a tick-born virus in the country following reports of deaths in China and Japan, the state-run disease control agency said Tuesday.

Out of five suspected cases, a 63-year-old woman was found to be infected with the virus transmitted by one species of tick, the Haemaphysalis longicornis, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The infected patient died in Seoul in August last year and four others were found to not be infected with the virus, according to South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency. Symptoms of the virus include high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, multiple organ failure and other blood-related problems. China and Japan have also recently reported similar cases of the virus, which is known to have a fatality rate as high as 30 percent. In Japan, eight patients were found to be infected with the virus, with five of them having died.

http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/561652