From an Ebola-like disease in Croatia to bird flu in Egypt: Biggest disease threats REVEALED

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Covid isn’t over yet, but scientists fear the next pandemic is already lurking just around the corner waiting to pounce.

Deadly diseases like Ebola and Nipah — which kill up to 75 per cent of people they strike — are two of the biggest threats.

Others pathogenic hazards, which could theoretically sweep the world if given the opportunity, include bird flu, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and the plague.

UK health officials are constantly monitoring the threats around the planet, in order not to be caught off-guard.

From an Ebola-like disease in Croatia to bird flu in Egypt: Biggest disease threats REVEALED

The data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed that there are 15 different diseases that account for each country’s high consequence infectious disease. Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, the biggest disease threat in Argentina, was the most widely reported disease threat, accounting for a HCID disease in 60 different countries

What are the world’s deadliest disease threats? 

In its latest update, UKHSA listed 15 different lethal pathogens that pose the biggest infection threat to each country worldwide. These are: 

  • Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF)
  • Plague
  • Marburg
  • Junin virus
  • Andes virus
  • Avian influenza
  • Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
  • Nipah virus
  • Lassa fever
  • Machupo virus
  • Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTS) 
  • Ebola
  • Monkeypox (Mpox)
  • Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
  • Lujo virus 

The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) list, updated this week, includes 15 of the most frightening infectious diseases. 

These are known as high consequence infectious diseases (HCID).

For a pathogen to be given this category, it typically has a high fatality rate and requires an official organised response to ensure it is managed effectively, because symptoms are often difficult to recognise.

The list breaks the data down country by country and shows if human cases have been spotted.

Yet it warns that locally acquired HCIDs can re-emerge in countries where they were previously eradicated ‘if the necessary transmission factors are present’. 

But in the same fashion, for countries where the only ‘supporting evidence’ of a HCID is ‘human serology’ – the study of blood – the true risk ‘may be lower and the data should be interpreted with caution’, UKHSA advised. 

The data was created to allow health professionals to assess the infection risk to each country.

But it is also publicly available for anyone to access online. 

China has the most known HCIDs at seven, including three different strains of Avian influenza A, commonly known as bird flu.

These were H5N1, H7N9 and H5N6.   

Fears of a potentially devastating bird flu pandemic were heightened last week after a ‘worrisome’ outbreak among mink.

For decades, scientists have warned that the disease is the most likely contender for triggering the next pandemic.

Experts say this is because of the threat of recombination — which could see a deadly strain of bird flu merge with a transmissible seasonal flu.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTS), SARS and the plague accounted for the final four HCIDs in China. 

SFTS, or severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, is a disease transmitted by bites from a certain group of virus-carrying ticks. 

It triggers symptoms including severe fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea.  

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral disease which is also mainly transmitted by ticks, which can prove fatal for up to 40 per cent of cases. 

The Ebola-like disease shares similar symptoms at the start of infection including muscle ache, abdominal pain, a sore throat and vomiting among numerous others.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a SARS-associated coronavirus. 

It is the earlier, more deadly cousin of SARS-COV-2, commonly known now as Covid, which first originated in China in 2002. 

SFTS, or severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, is a disease transmitted by bites from a certain group of virus-carrying ticks

SFTS, or severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome, is a disease transmitted by bites from a certain group of virus-carrying ticks

CCHF was the most widely reported disease threat, listed in 60 different countries including Afghanistan, Argentina, Croatia and Portugal. 

Among the rarest HCIDs reported included Lassa fever, a rodent-borne disease, in 13 countries, Marburg in seven, the original clade of monkeypox (Mpox) in five and Lujo virus in just one – Zambia. 

People usually become infected with Lassa fever after exposure to food or household items contaminated with urine or faeces of infected rats.

But the virus, which can make women bleed from their vagina and trigger seizures, can also be transmitted via bodily fluids.

A deadly cousin of Ebola, Marburg kills between a quarter and 90 per cent of everyone who gets infected.

Infected patients become ‘ghost-like’, often developing deep-set eyes and expressionless faces. This is usually accompanied by bleeding from multiple orifices — including the nose, gums, eyes and vagina.

Monkeypox is usually spread by infected rodents — including rats, mice and even squirrels.

Humans can catch the illness — which comes from the same family as smallpox — if they’re bitten by infected animals, touch their blood, bodily fluids, or scabs, or eat wild game or bush meat.

It differs starkly to the surge in cases seen last year in the UK, which predominantly infected gay men and spread through close contact. 

Lujo virus was first identified in 2008 after a small but severe outbreak in Africa, but little is known about the rodent-borne disease.  

The other seven lethal diseases mentioned on the list that pose the highest infection threat include: the plague, Ebola, Junin virus, Andes virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), Nipah virus and Machupo virus.

But UKHSA noted that for countries where the only ‘supporting evidence’ of a HCID is ‘human serology’ – the study of blood – the true risk ‘may be lower and the data should be interpreted with caution’. 

Some 104 countries recorded no known HCIDs, including Australia, France, Tonga and Singapore. 

The UK and US both reported bird flu — strain H5N1 — as their only known HCID risk. 

Biggest disease threat by country  
Country HCID Pathogen/Disease Evidence
Afghanistan Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) Human cases
Plague Human cases
Albania CCHF Human cases
Algeria Plague Human cases
American Samoa No known HCIDs
Andorra No known HCIDs
Angola Marburg Human cases
Plague Human cases
Anguilla No known HCIDs
Antigua & Barbuda No known HCIDs
Argentina Junin virus Human cases
Andes virus Human cases
Armenia CCHF Human serology (a)
Australia No known HCIDs
Austria No known HCIDs
Azerbaijan Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
Bahamas, The No known HCIDs
Bahrain MERS Human cases
Bangladesh Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Nipah virus Human cases
Barbados No known HCIDs
Belarus No known HCIDs
Belgium No known HCIDs
Belize No known HCIDs
Benin CCHF Human serology
Lassa fever Human cases
Bermuda No known HCIDs
Bhutan No known HCIDs
Bolivia Plague Human cases
Machupo virus Human cases
Bosnia & Herzegovina (b) CCHF Human serology (c)
Botswana CCHF Human serology
Plague Human cases
Brazil Plague Human cases
Brunei No known HCIDs
Bulgaria CCHF Human cases
Burkina Faso Lassa fever Human cases
Burma (Myanmar) Plague Human cases
SFTS Human cases
Burundi No known HCIDs
Cambodia Avian influenza A (H5N1) Human cases
Cameroon CCHF Human serology
Ebola Human serology (a)
Mpox (monkeypox) Human cases
Canada No known HCIDs
Canary Islands No known HCIDs
Cape Verde No known HCIDs
Central African Republic Ebola Human serology (a)
Lassa fever Human serology (a)
Mpox Human cases
Chad Ebola Human serology (a)
Chile Andes virus Human cases
China Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
Avian influenza A(H7N9) Human cases
Avian influenza A(H5N6) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
SARS Human cases
SFTS Human cases
Colombia No known HCIDs
Comoros No known HCIDs
Congo, Republic of the CCHF Human serology
Ebola Human cases
Lassa fever Human serology
Mpox Human cases
Cook Islands No known HCIDs
Costa Rica No known HCIDs
Cote dIvoire CCHF Human serology (c)
Ebola Human cases
Lassa fever Human cases
Croatia CCHF Human cases (a)
Cuba No known HCIDs
Curacao No known HCIDs
Cyprus No known HCIDs
Czech Republic No known HCIDs
Democratic Republic of the Congo CCHF Human cases
Ebola Human cases
Marburg Human cases
Mpox Human cases
Plague Human cases
Denmark No known HCIDs
Djibouti No known HCIDs
Dominica No known HCIDs
Dominican Republic No known HCIDs
Ecuador Plague Human cases
Egypt Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases (a)
El Salvador No known HCIDs
Equatorial Guinea CCHF Human serology (a)
Ebola Human serology (a)
Eritrea No known HCIDs
Estonia No known HCIDs
Ethiopia Ebola Human serology (a)
Fiji No known HCIDs
Finland No known HCIDs
France No known HCIDs
French Guiana No known HCIDs
French Polynesia No known HCIDs
Gabon Ebola Human cases
Mpox Human cases
Gambia, The CCHF Human serology (c)
Georgia CCHF Human cases
Germany No known HCIDs
Ghana CCHF Human serology
Lassa fever Human cases
Marburg Human cases
Greece CCHF Human cases
Greenland No known HCIDs
Grenada No known HCIDs
Guadeloupe No known HCIDs
Guam No known HCIDs
Guatemala No known HCIDs
Guinea Ebola Human cases
Marburg Human case
Lassa fever Human cases
Guinea-Bissau CCHF Human serology (c)
Guyana No known HCIDs
Haiti No known HCIDs
Honduras No known HCIDs
Hong Kong SARS Human cases
Hungary No known HCIDs
Iceland No known HCIDs
India Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Nipah virus Human cases
Plague Human cases
Indonesia Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
Iran CCHF Human cases
MERS Human cases
Iraq Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Ireland Avian influenza A(H7N7) Human case
Israel No known HCIDs
Italy Avian influenza A(H7N7) Human cases
Jamaica No known HCIDs
Japan SFTS Human cases
Jordan MERS Human cases
Plague Human cases
Kazakhstan CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Kenya CCHF Human cases
Ebola Human serology (a)
Marburg Human cases (a)
MERS Human serology
Plague Human cases
Kiribati No known HCIDs
Korea, North No known HCIDs
Korea, South SFTS Human cases
Kosovo CCHF Human cases
Kuwait CCHF Human cases
MERS Human cases
Kyrgyzstan CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Laos Plague Human cases
Avian influenza A(H5N6) Human cases
Latvia No known HCIDs
Lebanon Plague Human cases (a)
Lesotho CCHF Human serology (c)
Plague Human cases (a)
Liberia Ebola Human cases
Lassa fever Human cases
Libya Plague Human cases
Liechtenstein No known HCIDs
Lithuania No known HCIDs
Luxembourg No known HCIDs
Macau No known HCIDs
Macedonia CCHF Human cases (a)
Madagascar Ebola Human serology (a)
Plague Human cases
Malawi Plague Human cases
Malaysia Nipah virus Human cases
Maldives No known HCIDs
Mali CCHF Human cases
Lassa fever Human cases
Malta No known HCIDs
Marshall Islands No known HCIDs
Mauritania CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases (a)
Mauritius No known HCIDs
Mexico No known HCIDs
Micronesia No known HCIDs
Moldova CCHF Human cases (a)
Monaco No known HCIDs
Mongolia CCHF Human serology
Plague Human cases
Montenegro (b) CCHF Presumed endemic
Morocco Plague Human cases (a)
Mozambique CCHF Human serology
Plague Human cases
Namibia CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Nauru No known HCIDs
Nepal Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
Plague Human cases
Netherlands Avian influenza A(H7N7) Human cases
New Zealand No known HCIDs
Nicaragua No known HCIDs
Niger No known HCIDs
Nigeria Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Ebola Human serology (a)
Lassa fever Human cases
Norway No known HCIDs
Oman CCHF Human cases
MERS Human cases
Pakistan Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Palau No known HCIDs
Panama No known HCIDs
Papua New Guinea No known HCIDs
Paraguay No known HCIDs
Peru Plague Human cases
Andes virus Human serology
Philippines No known HCIDs
Poland No known HCIDs
Portugal CCHF Human serology (a)
Puerto Rico No known HCIDs
Qatar MERS Human cases
Romania No known HCIDs
Russia CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Rwanda No known HCIDs
Saint Kitts & Nevis No known HCIDs
Saint Lucia No known HCIDs
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines No known HCIDs
Samoa No known HCIDs
San Marino No known HCIDs
Sao Tome & Principe No known HCIDs
Saudi Arabia CCHF Human cases
MERS Human cases
Plague Human cases
Senegal CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases (a)
Serbia CCHF Human cases
Seychelles No known HCIDs
Sierra Leone Ebola Human cases
Lassa fever Human cases
Singapore No known HCIDs
Sint Maarten No known HCIDs
Slovakia No known HCIDs
Slovenia (b) CCHF Presumed endemic
Solomon Islands No known HCIDs
Somalia No known HCIDs
South Africa CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases (a)
South Sudan CCHF Human serology (c)
Ebola Human cases
Spain Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Sri Lanka No known HCIDs
State of Palestine No known HCIDs
Sudan CCHF Human cases
Suriname No known HCIDs
Swaziland CCHF Human serology (c)
Sweden No known HCIDs
Switzerland No known HCIDs
Syria Plague Human cases (a)
Taiwan SARS Human cases
SFTS Human cases
Tajikistan CCHF Human cases
Tanzania CCHF Human serology (a)
Ebola October 2019: probable human case
Plague Human cases
Thailand SFTS Human cases
Timor-Leste No known HCIDs
Togo Lassa fever Human cases
Tonga No known HCIDs
Trinidad & Tobago No known HCIDs
Tunisia CCHF Human serology
Plague Human cases (a)
Turkey Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
CCHF Human cases
Turkmenistan Plague Human cases
Tuvalu No known HCIDs
Uganda CCHF Human cases
Ebola Human cases
Lassa fever Human serology (a)
Marburg Human cases
Plague Human cases
Ukraine CCHF Human cases
United Arab Emirates CCHF Human cases
MERS Human cases
United Kingdom Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human case
United States Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human case
Plague Human cases
Uruguay No known HCIDs
Uzbekistan CCHF Human cases
Plague Human cases
Vanuatu No known HCIDs
Venezuela No known HCIDs
Vietnam Avian influenza A(H5N1) Human cases
Plague Human cases
SFTS Human cases
Western Sahara No known HCIDs
Yemen MERS Human cases
Plague Human cases (a)
Zambia Plague Human cases
Lujo virus Human cases
Zimbabwe CCHF Human serology (a)
Ebola Human serology (a)
Marburg Human cases (a)
Plague Human cases
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