Congo virus claims year’s first fatality

KARACHI: The deadly Congo viral fever claimed the life of a woman on Tuesday at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

JPMC staff said that 35-year old Tazeem Faizan, a resident of Orangi Town, was brought to the emergency department of JPMC five days ago with high-grade fever, vomiting blood and low platelets. The woman was diagnosed as a Congo fever patient and died during treatment.

Faizan was the first patient who died from Congo fever in the current year.



Jinnah Hospital Executive Director Dr Seemi Jamali said that a total of 16 people died in Karachi last year due to Congo fever while 41 patients were diagnosed with the virus. Congo fever, also known as Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), is a tick-borne viral disease that is mainly contracted by people who come in contact with livestock.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2019.