Greek ostriches, cattle to be inspected after woman dies from tick bite
Time is GMT + 8 hours Posted: 4-Jul-2008 01:23 hrs
An ostrich is seen in June 2008. Greece on Thursday said it would run health inspections on ostrich farms and cattle in the north of the country after a woman died from a tick-borne haemorrhagic fever.
Greece on Thursday said it would run health inspections on ostrich farms and cattle in the north of the country after a woman died from a tick-borne haemorrhagic fever.
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The Greek agriculture ministry ordered the check after the 49-year-old woman, a resident of Rhodope prefecture near the border with Turkey, died last week, the semi-official Athens News Agency (ANA) said.
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"An epidemiological study will be held in ostrich and small ruminant farms in Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus and the northern Aegean islands," the ministry said in a statement.
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The woman died of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a tick-borne viral disease common in eastern Europe, Asia and eastern Africa according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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"Ticks are mainly carried by ostriches, goats, sheeps and bovines," ministry veterinary expert Spyros Kyriakis told state television NET.
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Fatalities linked to CCHF have also been reported in neighbouring Turkey. — AFP
