Abstract

A collection of viral disorders known as hemorrhagic fever are brought on by various virus families and impact many bodily systems and organs, harming the cardiovascular system overall. The symptoms can include circulatory instability, coagulation problems, altered mental state, and, in extreme cases, death. Desertification is the process by which land in arid, semi-arid, and dry regions deteriorates due to a lack of water sources, causing a decline in biodiversity and plant life, which in turn causes the topsoil layer to disappear and, ultimately, the land's capacity to sustain human, animal, and agricultural life.

Highlights:

1. Hemorrhagic fever: viral disorders harming organs, cardiovascular system, causing death.
2. Symptoms: circulatory instability, coagulation issues, altered mental state, fatal outcomes.
3. Desertification: land degradation reduces biodiversity, plant life, and agricultural capacity.

Keywords: Hemorrhagic fever , Desertification, Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF)

Introduction

Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is a collection of infectious disorders brought on by several virus families. It damages the circulatory system overall, impairs the body's capacity to function on its own, and affects numerous systems and organs [1]. Although this kind of disease has many symptoms, it frequently damages the walls of small blood arteries, which results in bleeding and makes it more difficult for the blood to clot. While certain VHF viruses can cause serious, life-threatening infection, others only cause milder symptoms. A vaccine or cure for the majority of VHF viruses is unknown [2].

Contact with infected animals or insects can result in the transmission of viral hemorrhagic fever. The infection-causing viruses frequently live in rodents, bats, ticks, or mosquitoes. Four families of enveloped viruses—the Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae, and Flaviviridae—cause hemorrhagic fever. This fever can cause circulatory instability, coagulation problems, altered mental status, and, in extreme cases, death.[3]

•Flaviviridae Viruses: Mostly found in ticks and mosquitoes, but can also infect humans , members of this family are members of a single genus called Flavivirus, which causes encephalitis, yellow fever, dengue fever, hemorrhagic diseases, Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), Alkhurma disease, and Omsk hemorrhagic fever [4].

•Filoviridae Viruses: These viruses, which can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans, monkeys, and gorillas, can spread to other animals, including bats, and can take on different forms[5]. Each virus contains a single molecule of single-stranded RNA, and they are zoonotic, which means that they are spread from animals to humans [6].

•The Ebola virus has no known host, though bats are probably its reservoirs . Bunyaviridae Viruses: Arthropods or aerosols from infected rodent droppings [7].

•Adenoviridae viruses are typically transmitted by rodents, which act as the virus's natural reservoirs in the majority of nations [8]. Arenavirus infections are rather prevalent in humans and can result in serious sickness in various regions of the world [12].

1- The Types of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever:

A. Dengue Fever: Symptoms include a high fever and is spread by the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito [9].

B. Ebola Fever: This severe virus-induced illness, which affects both humans and animals, is characterized by a high fever, widespread exhaustion, and muscle soreness [10].

C. Lassa Fever: This type of fever, which is caused by the Lassa virus, an arenavirus, is less severe and less contagious than others; patients may have minor symptoms or no symptoms at all [11].

D. Marburg Fever: Spread by Megachiropteran fruit bats, this illness is brought on by the Marburg virus [11].

E. Yellow Fever: Spread by mosquitoes, this illness is characterized by jaundice, headache, muscle soreness, vomiting, and appetite loss. Two of the most prevalent forms of viral hemorrhagic fever are dengue fever and yellow fever [12].

Figure 1.Types of Viruses Causing Hemorrhagic Fever [13]

Result and Discussion

Methods of Transmission of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF)

Humans are thought of as secondary hosts for VHF viruses, which rely on the existence of natural hosts like rodents, primates, bats, and mice to survive. Infected animals can infect healthy humans, and an infected individual can infect another healthy person with the virus [14].

Direct contact or inadequate infection control methods in healthcare settings are two ways that transmission occurs between people. [15].Contact with rat urine or droppings can also result in infection, as can aerosol transmission, which occurs when mouse feces are disturbed and release virus particles into the air.[16].

Filoviruses are frequently spread by direct contact with the blood, bodily fluids, or tissues of infected people.[17]. Bats may naturally harbor filoviruses like Marburg and Ebola. [18] Aerosolized rat excrement is the main way that arenaviruses are spread, while filoviruses are spread by coming into touch with contaminated blood or bodily fluids. In patients with VHF, increased vascular permeability is the main pathogenic mechanism. [19]

3- Symptoms of VHF:

Fever, exhaustion, weakness, or a general feeling of unwellness, joint or muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are examples of general early symptoms. Seizures, which can be fatal, neurological dysfunction, delirium and coma, kidney failure, respiratory failure, liver fibrosis, bleeding from the lips, eyes, or ears, or from internal organs or beneath the skin are more serious symptoms [20].In addition to fever and muscle aches, symptoms of the vascular system include redness, conjunctival congestion, and petechial bleeding. Later, there may be hypotension, shock, circulatory collapse, and bleeding from the mucosal membranes. The particular virus implicated, its amount, and the route of exposure all affect how severe the clinical symptoms are. [21]

Figure 2.Illustrating Cases of Hemorrhagic Fever [21]

4- Prevention of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF):

Steer clear of places where the illness is common. When traveling abroad, use approved insect repellents and protective gear to avoid mosquito and tick bites [22]. After visiting an underdeveloped nation, stay away from mice and their waste, as well as sick individuals. Additionally, stay away from bodily fluids like human blood. [33] The only hemorrhagic fever for which a vaccine has been developed is yellow fever. To create vaccines against additional viruses that cause hemorrhagic fever, however, research and investigations are still being conducted.[23]

5- Treatment of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF):

Preventing the disease by vaccine, vector control, public health education, and transmission prevention continues to be an essential component of public health surveillance because treatment options are still quite limited and the danger of this disease is still significant.[24].The likelihood of survival is increased when people suspected of having the disease receive an early diagnosis. All staff members providing care for patients with symptoms or travel histories suggestive of these diseases should wear the proper personal protective equipment and segregate the patients. [25].

Ribavirin has been shown to be useful in treating Rift Valley fever, Lassa fever, and Hantavirus. When treatment is started early in the infection, better results are obtained. There are presently no effective vaccines for Lassa fever, although newer medications like as favipiravir and monoclonal antibodies specific to Lassa Mam arenavirus (LASV) are being tested [26].There is now only one vaccine available in Latin America and Southeast Asia, and no effective antiviral therapy regimens are available. However, only those who have experienced dengue fever in the past are advised to do so by the World Health Organization [27].

6- Desertification:

The loss of plant life and biodiversity in arid, semi-arid, and dry regions is known as desertification. This degrades the topsoil layer and the land's capacity to sustain agricultural output as well as human and animal life. Either human activity or natural processes reduce biological productivity [28].

The nation's economy is greatly impacted by desertification, which causes agriculture output losses of up to $400 billion yearly and raises prices as a result [29]. Deserts have naturally changed over geological time, but in the present era, a lot of research has been done on the possible effects of human activity, inadequate land management, deforestation, and climate change [30].

7- Causes of Desertification:

A. Overgrazing: Degradation of the land is caused by cattle overgrazing.

B. Deforestation: The clearing of forests for different uses.[31]

C. Land Stripping: Desertification is a result of soil nutrient stripping in agricultural regions [32].

D. Land Development and Urbanization: Desertification results from the reduction of vegetated areas caused by urban expansion [33].

E. Climate Change: Desertification is significantly influenced by the climate. Rapid climate change can turn large areas into deserts, rendering certain parts uninhabitable, and warmer temperatures and longer droughts exacerbate desertification [34].

F. Capturing Nature's Resources: When resources such as raw materials, oil, or gas are extracted, the soil becomes depleted of nutrients and plant life is killed, resulting in a desert [35].

G. Natural Disasters: Drought and other natural disasters harm the ecosystem. Although people cannot stop these catastrophes, they can help restore the land once they happen [36].

8- The Impact of Desertification on Livestock in Iraq:

Iraq is slowly dying of disease and drought as a result of its deserts and water shortage problems. Feed prices have skyrocketed as a result of this crisis, which also poses a threat to cattle extinction [37].Desertification, which is caused by a lack of vegetation cover, is one of the major risks to the population's health. The edges of Diyala and Baghdad provinces are where cholera and other diseases spread, making residents of Diyala province especially susceptible to them. The situation is made worse by the rise of hemorrhagic fever and the pollution of rivers from sewage discharge [38].

9- Solutions to Eliminate Desertification

There are numerous ways to stop desertification, but two of the most well-known ones are land management and ongoing irrigation . protecting soil from wind erosion by maintaining vegetation cover [39]. Modern farming methods and alternative agriculture can lessen soil erosion and pressure. To lessen the effects of desertification, fish farming ponds might be built in arid regions [40]. revitalizing gardens and creating green belts around cities [41].

Conclusion

Due to drought and climate change, which are worldwide problems that impact human life and other living things that depend on humans, such the food chain, desertification is the lack of water supplies, which can be either flowing water or rainwater. Diseases are more prevalent in areas with less water [42].

Life depends on water, however many people do not have access to safe, clean drinking water, and many of them pass away from waterborne illnesses. Microorganism-induced water contamination is a serious global hazard for aquatic habitats. Increased morbidity in water bodies is caused by liquid waste from industry, hospitals, and feces [42].

Water that has some oxygen and a low concentration of pathogenic bacteria, including gut bacteria, viruses, and cholera, is considered drinking water [43]. Domestic animals that require water, such cows, sheep, poultry, and others, are affected by this. Water that is limited has low oxygen levels and is teeming with germs and viruses that cause illness. Hemorrhagic fever cases in Iraq and the surrounding nations have demonstrated this.[44]Dust, sandstorms, insects (lice, ticks, lice, mosquitoes), and other disease vectors spread because of the lack of natural pastures, the scarcity of grass on Earth, and rising carbon dioxide levels. These factors all have an impact on disease cases . [45]

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