The horrific outbreak of “eye bleeding fever” in East Africa has forced one doctor to admit the disturbing truth. The fatal outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is “an epidemic already.”

Amid news that this disease is the same on the wiped out much of the Aztec population, Dr. Mukuzi Muhereza, from the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) warns that immediate action should be taken to prevent the spread of this disease, which has a 40% fatality rate, and as a virus, has no cure.

Dr. Muhereza warned that the disease is “highly contagious” and said the people “must be protected” to prevent it spreading. Muhereza’s warning comes amid a growing war of words between the UMA and Uganda’s health ministry, who have said there is no CCHF in the country, despite confirming a case.

This horrific infection causes victims to suffer from a burning fever before beginning to bleed from orifices including their eyes, anuses, and mouths. World Health Organisation (WHO) officials label any outbreak of CCHF as a major threat to public health. “CCHF outbreaks constitute a threat to public health services because of its epidemic potential, its high case fatality ratio (10-40%), its potential for nosocomial outbreaks and the difficulties in treatment and prevention,” WHO’s description of the virus reads.

And new reports say that the Aztecs fell victim to a strikingly similar disease.

Joe Joseph of The Daily Sheeple says that history could be repeating itself with the reemergence of this deadly disease. “Interestingly enough, it’s [the disease that killed the Aztecs] showing striking similarities to the eye bleeding plague over in Africa,” says Joseph. “If we use history as a guide here, and I would say that it’s pretty serious if a disease like this could wipe out 80% of the Aztec population. And we often wonder why it was that the Aztecs just basically, in a very short span of time, just disappeared…we are starting to see similar chains of events unfold in Africa.”

Dr. Muhereza is in agreement with Joseph.  This could be a huge problem for those in East Africa. “There are several cases that are suspected,” said Muhereza. “We, therefore, state that one confirmed case of CCHF is an epidemic already. The government should activate emergency levels, it should activate epidemic levels.”

Muhereza added that he was “disappointed” in how the outbreak had been handled by the health ministry, saying it was “very very unprofessional.”