Health experts in France have identified a disease, for the first time, that is believed to kill up to four out of every ten people who contract it.
The tick carrying Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was found on the country's border with Spain.
This disease is endemic in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Balkans, and has been detected sporadically in southern parts of Western Europe such as Spain.
Experts have long warned that climate change will push the disease into northern Europe.
Live ticks collected from livestock in the eastern Pyrénées region have been shown to harbor the disease.
WHO officials announced that CCHF is one of nine priority diseases this year due to its potential threat.
CCHF is spread mainly between humans through tick bites, but people can also become infected through contact with bodily fluids from infected patients.
The disease shares symptoms similar to Ebola initially, including muscle aches, abdominal pain, sore throat and vomiting.
It can also lead to bleeding from the nose or from capillaries in the eyes and skin.
Other symptoms of the virus, which appear suddenly, include fever, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, back pain, headache, sore eyes, and sensitivity to light.
There is no vaccine available, and treatment focuses on keeping the person alive long enough for their body to fight off the infection.
Previous CCHF outbreaks have killed between 10 and 40 percent of those infected, according to the World Health Organization.
It is worth noting that cases of infection with the CCHF virus were previously discovered in people in France, but all of these cases so far were imported from outside the country.
“No indigenous case [infection acquired on French soil] has been detected in humans in France so far,” French government agency Santé Publique France said in announcing the discovery.
Health authorities have long suspected that ticks associated with CCHF may be lurking inside wild and domestic animals in France based on tests that showed livestock had developed antibodies against the virus.
Cases of CCHF infections in humans have already been reported several times in neighboring Spain, with 12 cases between 2013 and August last year, four of which were fatal.
In August this year, the European Union disease surveillance body reported two cases of CCHF in North Macedonia, one of which was fatal.
A daily habit that mimics the effectiveness of Viagra in treating impotence in men
A recent study found that walking is as effective as Viagra in treating erectile dysfunction.
American researchers discovered that regular exercise gives men the same effectiveness as Viagra and similar medications in improving erectile function.
Doctors have long known that erectile function is linked to cardiovascular health, but there is limited high-quality evidence about the effect of exercise on this disorder.
Now, a trio of medical researchers have discovered that many men with erectile dysfunction can overcome much of their problem simply by exercising.
In their study, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, Mohit Khera, Sameer Bhattacharya, and Larry Miller analyzed the results of 11 randomized studies that included testing the effect of exercise and medications such as Viagra to treat men with erectile dysfunction.
The researchers identified that some previous research has shown that erectile dysfunction is often associated with cardiovascular health and associated symptoms such as inflammation, narrowing, and/or hardening of the arteries. The results also indicated that regular exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms of cardiovascular disease. This made them wonder whether this approach might work for men with erectile dysfunction.
To find out, the team searched multiple databases for information on research on erectile dysfunction.
The researchers found that prescribing exercise was almost as effective as prescribing medications such as Viagra, provided the volunteers actually did the prescribed exercise. More specifically, of the 1,100 men who participated in the trials, 600 of them followed an exercise regimen that included exercising for 30 to 60 minutes, three to five times a week. Another 500 volunteers were part of a control group.
Researchers participating in the trials found that those volunteers who participated in the exercise regimens saw a 5-point improvement in erectile function, and volunteers who took Viagra or Cialis saw an improvement of 4 to 8 points, while those who took testosterone saw an improvement of only 2 points. .
The research team noted that exercise, unlike medications, rarely has any negative side effects.
“Exercise may be a valuable strategy for managing ED, especially for men who do not prefer or cannot tolerate medications,” said Dr. Mohit Khera, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Health care providers should consider recommending regular exercise as a non-invasive treatment.” "A low-risk drug for men who have erection difficulties."
Obesity is a major risk factor for this condition, with four out of five men with ED classified as overweight.