Veterinary doctor diagnosed with Congo fever

Health officials confirmed on Saturday a fresh case of Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), saying that a 28-year old person was being treated at a private hospital after being diagnosed with the deadly viral infection.

“Ali Ayaz, a veterinary doctor and resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, has been brought to the emergency department in serious condition and he has been confirmed with Congo Crimean viral infection,” Zafar Mehdi, an official of the Sindh health department said.

CCHF is a highly lethal viral disease and it has claimed nine lives so far in Karachi alone this year, while over 76 patients have been taken to various hospitals in the city on suspicion of having the fever.

Zafar Mehdi said Ali Ayaz had examined a sick dog in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area on October 24 and confirmed removing a tick with his bare hands.

He said the patient was critically ill with a high grade fever and had difficulty in breathing. However, he hoped that he would survive the fatal viral infection.

Samina Ahmed, a 36-year old woman from Hyderabad was the latest victim of the Congo Crimean viral infection, who had died on October 2 at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Samina’s death came a day after a 36-year-old butcher died of Congo fever at the JPMC. The man who passed away on Saturday, Muhammad Younus, 36, was a resident of Baldia Town who had been admitted to the JPMC on late Thursday night. 

A polymerase chain reaction test had confirmed that he was suffering from Congo fever. Dr Javed Jamali, the JPMC deputy director, told The News that Younus died in the afternoon.

Health officials said most of these patients died between August and September. Overall, 71 patients have been diagnosed with Congo fever in the city this year. Congo fever is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease. A person contracts the disease after coming in contact with a tick attached to cattle or the secretions of an infected animal. Most patients contracted the disease during or prior to Eid-ul-Azha.