The Covid pandemic has the whole world clutched in it's fists. Humanity is struggling hard to overcome this virus. It has taken too much lives. It has a fatality rate of approximately 3.64%.
Even when we are struggling so hard, it seems that nature is still not lenient on us. News keeps coming that new types of virus outbreaks are erupting in many parts of the world. Today we are going to talk about one such virus called the SFTS VIRUS. So, lets get to the point.
WHAT IS SFTS?
STFS means 'SEVERE FEVER with THROMBOCYTOPENIA VIRUS'. It is a virus which spreads mainly through Ticks, but is also known to spread from Human to Human through infected mucous and blood. It is not a new virus. It was detected in first in 2009.
This is a 'PHLEBOVIRUS' which belongs to the BUNYAVIRIDAE FAMILY.
There are 4 known species of ticks found in dogs, sheep, cattle and cats which are the reservoirs of this virus.
WHY IS THIS VIRUS DANGEROUS?
So the question that arises now is that what makes this virus dangerous? For starters, this virus can have a fatality rate from 6% (of very immune people) to 30% (immunity compromised people) while the present Sars-Cov-2 has an average fatality rate of only 3.64%! That means it can cause much more deaths can caused by Covid-19. It has already wreaked havoc in Japan and South Korea in 2015.
SYMPTOMS OF INFETION
So what are the symptoms that a person infected with this virus shows? Well, there are 4 stages of infection of this virus -
Stage 1 - The virus after infection, takes almost 5 to 14 days to fully infect the body. This period is a symptomless period and makes it more hard to detect the presence of the virus in the Body. This period is called INCUBATION PERIOD.
Stage 2 - After the incubation period is over, the 2nd phase takes over. In this phase the infected person experiences Fever as well as other FLU-LIKE symptoms such as Diarrhoea, Muscular Pain and Headache. This lasts for 5 to 11 days.
Stage 3 - MULTIPLE ORGAN FAILURE. This is the most feared stage of the virus. The organs begin to fail. This happens due to Leukocytopenia ( a low count of WBCs, which provide immunity and prevent infections) and thrombocytopenia ( a low count of platelets, which are responsible for Blood Clotting ). This ultimately leads to death.
Stage 4 - If a person is able to survive the most fatal stage 3, then this 4th stage is a good news for them. This stage is also known as CONVALESCENCE. This is a stage of recovery. The people who have overcome the 3rd stage, start to get better from this stage.
SFTS VS COVID-19
Even if the SFTS virus has a higher Fatality rate than the Sars-Cov-2 virus, it is less dangerous than Covid-19. This is because of the mode of transmission of the virus becomes a limiting factor in its transmission. As said previously, the virus spreads through MUCUS and BLOOD of infected person and ticks which serve as carriers for the disease, which is still a much less efficient mode of transmission than transmission through air, which is obviously the mode of transmission for Covid-19. So, this disease will spread much at a much lower rate than Covid-19.
That was it guys for today. We hope you all enjoyed reading this post! Please subscribe to the blog for more amazing and informative content like this as well as regarding technology, as we post on both the topics. Thank you!
RESEARCHED BY - SHIVANK AND YAMAN
WRITTEN BY - YAMAN KUMAR
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