A virologist questioned the veracity of statements about a new unknown virus in Spain.

A new unknown virus, which allegedly infected a Russian due to contact with a tick in Spain, is probably an already studied disease, and not a newly discovered disease. This opinion was expressed by Sergey Netesov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, virologist, in an interview with Izvestia on July 15.

On that day, the media reported that the Russian allegedly contracted an unknown infection after being bitten by ticks in Spain and was in quarantine for several days. It was noted that two weeks before his hospitalization, the man found three ticks on his body after a walk in the mountains. Later, his temperature rose to 40 degrees, weakness, aches and pains appeared in his body.

"I look at what bloggers write, and 90% of it is not confirmed later. <… > They [bloggers] write that the temperature has risen below 40 degrees, there are aches, body pain, weakness. <… > These are signs of dozens of diseases. Do you understand? Dozens. And it is absolutely not necessary that it is tick—borne in nature," the virologist explained.

Sergey stressed that there is also no tick-borne encephalitis in Spain. He noted that the detection of any disease or virus should be reported by local doctors and health officials, not by the media or local residents. All tests of the infected patient and other examinations are also needed for the grounds.

"Well, it's unlikely, it's probably some kind of new disease, unknown to anyone. It is very likely that this is a known disease, and it is simply unknown to these bloggers," the expert clarifies.

According to the virologist, there is no test for encephalitis in modern medicine, however, there are diagnoses that are made with samples from the patient, where blood is taken or a smear for research. In addition, the expert added that bloggers and pranksters' reports of such cases are often based on unconfirmed data. He stressed that without laboratory confirmation, virology specialists cannot draw conclusions about the cause of the disease.

Special bite: four exotic viruses dangerous for humans found in Russian ticks

What diseases do these pathogens cause and why do we need to develop new infection tests?

On July 13, the first case of West Nile fever was reported in the Volgograd Region, and the infection was confirmed in a resident of the regional capital. It has been noted that infection occurs when bitten by blood-sucking insects. The virus is most often transmitted to humans through mosquitoes, but ixodes and argasse ticks can also act as vectors. Birds and rodents are the main reservoir of infection in nature.