A ProMED-mail post
Date: Wed 14 Jan 2015
Source: Pakistan Today
Crimean-Congo
hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was confirmed in 2
under-treatment patients
in Civil Hospital Karachi [Sindh province],
it was learnt on
Wednesday [14 Jan 2015].
An official of Civil
Hospital Karachi confirmed that 2 patients with
high-grade fever were
brought in the general ward of hospital for
treatment about a week ago
and their blood samples were sent to the
National Institute of
Health (NIH), Islamabad.
He said the NIH report
confirmed that both the patients, 60-year-old
men, were suffering from
Congo fever [CCHF]. He said one of them was
isolated from the other
patient, while the 2nd person was discharged
from the hospital even
before confirmation report was received to the
hospital administration
as his condition had improved.
He said Congo [CCHF] is
a deadly viral disease spread through a
tick-bite found on
animals. He said people who deal with dairy farming
and livestock were most
likely to catch the disease. He said symptoms
of [Crimean-] Congo
viruMedical Superintendent,
Prof Saeed Qureshi, when contacted, said
[Crimean-] Congo fever
was confirmed in 2 male admitted patients on
[13 Jan 2015] evening
and a patient isolated from other patients. He,
however, said that the
hospital administration contacted with a
patient who was
discharged from healthcare, but he refused to return
back and said: "he
is better now".s [infections] were high-fever, dizziness,
neck pain, backache,
muscle aches, sore eyes, nausea, and vomiting and
stomach pain. He said
these symptoms of disease generally appear 3-4
days after exposure to
ticks.
and paramedical staff
after hearing the news that 2 Congo [CCHF]
patients remained with
them in the general ward. He said patients with
dengue, [Crimean-] Congo
and other hemorrhagic fevers must be kept in
the isolation ward as
these viral diseases can transform [sic;
transmit] into other
patients if strict protective step are not
taken.
MORE INFORMATION
[Sporadic cases of
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) occurred in
various parts of
Pakistan last year (2014). Last year, 17 cases of
CCHF were reported in
the country, with 9 of them in Sindh province.
Circumstances under
which the 2 patients acquired their CCHF virus
infections is not stated
in the above report. They probably acquired
the infection via a tick
bite or exposure to the blood of an infected
animal. The virus can
cause severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks,
with a case fatality
rate of 10-40 per cent. The virus is transmitted
by _Hyalomma_ spp ticks
or through contact with infected human blood
or animal blood and
tissues during and immediately after slaughter.
The majority of cases
have occurred in people involved in the
livestock industry, such
as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse
workers, and
veterinarians. Exposure in health care facilities can
occur also. The length
of the incubation period depends on the mode of
acquisition of the
virus. Following infection by a tick bite, the
incubation period is
usually 1-3 days, with a maximum of 9 days.
CCHF virus is a
tickborne virus in the genus _Nairovirus_, family
_Bunyaviridae
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