Tick bite disease scare floods hospitals

ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 20 (UPI) -- Istanbul, Turkey, hospital workers said hundreds of the city's residents have flocked to hospitals after a Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever scare.

Hospitals including Haseki, Okmeydani and Haydarpasa Numune said more than 500 residents sought treatment during the weekend for tick bites after a woman died of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever that was thought to have been transmitted by a tick bite in the town of Sivas, Today's Zaman reported Tuesday.

Doctors said they performed tests on the patients and told them to return if they suffer fever, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

İstanbul Provincial Health Director Mehmet Bakar said Monday that citizens should avoid contact with ticks whenever possible.

"There has never been a CCHF incident in İstanbul. But this does not mean that there won't be one in the future," he noted.