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France travel warning as tourists told to ‘take action’ amid serious illness risk

France has issued a travel warning for tourists and locals due to an outbreak of a potentially serious disease in some of its regions – and people are being told to be vigilant

Brits heading on France holidays this summer are being warned to stay vigilant, due to an outbreak of a potentially serious disease in the country. Tourists are being warned to look out for tick-borne encephalitis after 61 cases were diagnosed as having been caught – and 94% of those resulted in hospitalisation, reports Wales Online. (It’s worth noting that there were no deaths).

The Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region has been deemed an important area of TBE circulation with the with Haute-Savoie department reporting the highest number of cases in a two-year period, and cases now reported in Ardèche department. Public Health France warned people to ‘take action’ and be vigilant.

Tick-borne encephalitis is transmitted to humans by bites, often in humid wooded areas – so you could be at risk if you’re camping, hiking or mushroom picking in the affected areas. If transmitted, the infection could lead to more serious health concerns as it affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) in a significant proportion of cases. It also has the potential to cause neurological problems for several years.

According to the NHS website, encephalitis usually starts off with flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature and headache. More serious symptoms can come on over hours, days or weeks such as confusion or disorientation, seizures or fits, changes in personality and behaviour, difficulty speaking, weakness or loss of movement in some parts of the body or even loss of consciousness.

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