14 cases of Congo virus reported in KP during current year

PESHAWAR:  Fourteen cases of Congo virus have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during current year. 

According to a report issued by Provincial Health Department, during the first seven months of this year, at least 14 cases of Congo virus were reported across the province.

Four people died in Congo this year and among the dead people two belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two to Afghanistan.

The report said that nine patients infected with Congo have been recovered and in the last 24 hours and discharged from the hospital.

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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a virus from that is transmitted by ticks. Crimean hemorrhagic fever was the term given to the illness when it was first identified in the Crimea in 1944. The disease’s current name came about as a result of the fact that it was later identified as the illness’s primary cause in the Congo in 1969.

 Humans contract the disease by coming into contact with infected ticks or animal blood, infectious blood, or bodily fluids. The hosts of the CCHF virus include a wide range of wild and domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock.

Hospitals have also documented cases of CCHF spreading because of contaminated medical supplies, reused needles, and insufficient sterilization of medical equipment.