Overview
- A 68-year-old man treated in Salamanca was transferred to Madrid’s Hospital Gómez Ulla and samples sent to the Centro Nacional de Microbiología, which verified infection with Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever.
- The patient is reported in stable condition and is under high-isolation care while health teams have identified and begun close monitoring of his contacts.
- Authorities have required personal protective equipment for staff and followed established protocols because the virus spreads through Hyalomma tick bites and can transmit between people via blood or bodily fluids.
- Spain’s specialist referral system centralizes testing at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and routes suspected high-risk cases to units like Gómez Ulla or Hospital Clínic’s Equipo Ubuntu, which handles 10–20 such suspicions a year and admits about 10% to high-level ICU.
- From 2013 to 2024 Spain recorded 15 confirmed cases with two deaths in patients who had other illnesses, and experts say the presence of Hyalomma ticks and migratory birds makes continued surveillance and public prevention advice important.