Hospital Clínic in Barcelona is investigating a possible case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, or CCHF, a rare viral disease spread mainly by tick bites that can cause severe haemorrhagic illness. A person with symptoms compatible with the infection was identified on Friday and transferred to the hospital's isolation unit, where tests are being carried out to confirm whether it is a positive case.

For Barcelona residents, the immediate consequence is limited to the hospital investigation now under way. The available information does not indicate any wider public health alert in the city, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, or ECDC, says the disease is tick-borne.

Only one case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever has been detected in Europe this year, according to ECDC surveillance data, before the suspected Barcelona case now under investigation.

According to ECDC's 2026 seasonal surveillance page, one case had been recorded in the EU/EEA this year. The source material states that case involved a person from Salamanca, in an area where the virus circulates because of a high presence of ticks capable of transmitting it.

What is known about CCHF in Spain and Europe

The ECDC describes CCHF as a potentially life-threatening tick-borne viral disease. In an ECDC news update, the agency said that in 2022 the EU/EEA recorded four cases and two deaths, while no cases were reported in 2023. The same ECDC update says that in 2024 Spain recorded one fatal case of CCHF.

The agency's annual epidemiological report for 2022 gives more detail on recent confirmed cases. It says 28 EU/EEA countries reported CCHF data for that year, and Bulgaria and Spain each reported two confirmed cases, including one death in each country.

For Spain, the same report says both 2022 cases occurred in León province, in Castile and León, and both were linked to tick bites. ECDC's historical local transmission page tracks previous locally acquired infections in the EU/EEA.

What residents should do now

No official notice in the supplied sources sets out any special measures for Barcelona beyond the hospital isolation and testing of the patient. For residents, the practical advice from the facts currently available is to avoid tick bites during countryside visits and to follow updates from official health authorities rather than rumours while the test result is pending.

  • People who have recently been bitten by a tick and develop fever or other worrying symptoms should seek medical advice promptly.
  • Anyone wanting verified information about the disease can check the ECDC surveillance page and the main ECDC disease page.
  • The confirmed facts at this stage are that the patient was moved to Hospital Clínic's isolation unit on Friday and that laboratory results were still awaited.

Until those results are known, the Barcelona case remains a suspected infection under investigation, not a confirmed case.

Primary sources: ecdc.europa.eu, ecdc.europa.eu, ecdc.europa.eu, ECDC, ecdc.europa.eu, nc.cdc.gov, nc.cdc.gov, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Reported by Source Text Link, G.M. Giuseppe Michieli, Juanjo González, Patricia Martín,Beatriz Pérez, cronicaglobal.elespanol.com, EP, rac1.cat, Beatriz Pérez, Diari ARA.