{
  "id": 5957521,
  "title": "Germany, Kosovo unite against ticks carrying deadly virus",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/germany-kosovo-unite-against-ticks-carrying-deadly-virus",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-06T10:25:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "DW News",
    "slug": "dw-news",
    "url": "https://www.dw.com/en/germany-kosovo-unite-against-ticks-carrying-deadly-virus/a-78655223?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Hyalomma tick, known as the \"great hunting tick,\" can spot its prey from up to 200 meters away and will chase animals and humans to catch them. This tick, previously found mainly in Africa, Asia, and southern Europe, has now adapted to survive in northern climates and has been spotted in Germany and Eastern European countries. The Hyalomma tick is also a carrier of the highly pathogenic virus responsible for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a potentially deadly disease with a high fatality rate. Symptoms are similar to those of Ebola fever or the Marburg virus, and the disease can cause internal bleeding and death.\n\nKosovo, in southeastern Europe, has been a hotspot for the tick for some time. One veterinarian, Kurtesh Sherifi, first learned about Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in the newspaper in 2005 when 11 people in Kosovo contracted the disease, and five died. Intrigued by zoonotic diseases, Sherifi started working with the University of Pristina's faculty of agriculture and veterinary medicine. However, the limited research budget and lack of a high-security laboratory hindered his progress.\n\nSeeking help, Sherifi contacted Germany's leading institution for studying such viruses, the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. There, he met Petra Emmerich, a virologist specializing in Risk Group 4 viruses, which cause severe and often fatal diseases with no widely available treatments. The Crimean-Congo virus falls into this risk group. Emmerich, who is also a reservist in the German military interested in such viruses, began collaborating with Sherifi in 2009.\n\nTheir joint efforts led to the establishment of a monitoring structure for the spread of the Hyalomma tick and the virus in Kosovo. In 2013, their work received funding through the German Biosecurity Program, aimed at helping partner countries tackle biological threats. This collaboration includes raising public awareness, educating farmers about tick prevention, and visiting schools to inform students about the dangers of the virus and how to protect against it.",
  "summary": "Germany has high-security labs while Kosovo has Hyalomma ticks and experience with the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Working together, German and Kosovar scientists are fighting the disease and its vectors.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "DW English (Top Stories)",
        "title": "Germany, Kosovo unite against ticks carrying deadly virus",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/germany-kosovo-unite-against-ticks-carrying-deadly-virus-5958479",
        "published": "2026-09-06T10:25:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}