Deadly virus now 'highly likely' to hit UK in new climate change warning

dailyrecord.co.uk:

People in the UK are now facing the "highly likely" arrival of a potentially fatal disease that kills nearly every second patient, which has been brought about by climate change.Scientists have been discussing with politicians about the potential issues surrounding a new illness possibly arriving in the country, as the Government attempts to prepare for a new wave of infection.There is great concern over a new disease called Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), which has a mortality rate of up to 40 per cent, reports the Mirror.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that CCHF is difficult to treat and spreads quickly, either by ticks or certain animal tissue.The disease has now bee placed on the WHO's list of 'priority' diseases, and has been identified in Eastern Europe as well as France.

Other 'priority' diseases include the deadly Rift Valley fever, as well as Zika and 'breakbone' fever - all of which could arrive in Britain alongside the warmer weather.There is worry that these infections may not be noticed by NHS doctors as they previously hadn't been expecting them, according to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.Professor Bryan Charleston, director of the Pirbright Institute which studies infectious diseases in animals, has claimed that the virus is making the "slow march north", and could arrive in the UK soon.He said: "There are broadly two (points), one is that the insect vectors will move, greatly increasing the range of their habitat because of climate change and we are seeing that."From a European perspective, the insects are spreading more north and then the viruses that they carry tend to follow."Alternatively there are examples like blue tongue virus which we had in 2007 where