Society

280 cases of tick-borne disease reported this year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-16 20:53

BEIJING - As of June 16, more than 280 cases of tick-borne disease have been reported in central and east China's provinces of Henan, Hubei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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A dozen people have died from the disease. Ninety percent of the cases occurred in people over 40 years of age and farmers accounted for 90 percent of these cases.

The tick-borne disease, named by the center as "fever-thrombocytopenia syndrome," is a kind new infectious disease caused by Bunia virus found in central China regions. The CDC said that most of the victims have suffered from nausea, fatigue and a lack of appetite.

In October of last year, the Ministry of Health issued a guideline on the control and prevention of tick-borne diseases, asking local governments to report on possible cases through a nationwide disease control network.