Deadly ticks: Congo fever claims first casualty of the year
The patient is suspected to be suffering from the disease based on the symptoms.
Congo fever is transmitted via Hyalomma ticks, mostly found on the skin of domestic animals, as well as by direct contact with the blood of an infected animal. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
A 38-year-old man died at Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton on Saturday after being suspected for the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a day earlier.
Subject to confirmation, the case will make him the first reported casualty of the year, by the vector-borne disease usually transmitted by Hyalomma ticks. The patient, Sabir Majeed, was brought to the healthcare facility on Friday, where he was suspected to be suffering from the CCHF, due to acute symptoms of the disease, including high-grade fever with massive internal as well as nasal and oral bleeding.
"At the hospital, he underwent intensive care in isolation but his condition continued to deteriorate as he suffered complete shutdown of vital organs," a hospital spokesperson told The Express Tribune. "Our internal laboratory reports reflected the onset of CCHF, however the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test report, based on the patient's blood samples, have yet to arrive from Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) to substantiate our reservations."
A majority of the public and private healthcare facilities in the metropolis do not have the ability to rapidly detect the CCHF, admitted Karachi health director Zafar Ejaz when approached by The Express Tribune. "Almost all the hospitals depend on the AKUH for the CCHF's detection because the handling of the specialised test requires expertise as well as investment."
Majeed, a resident of the Bhains Colony in Landi, owned a cattle farm, from where he apparently contracted the virus when bitten by a tick, mostly found on the skin of animals including goats and sheep. However, the CCHF can also be transmitted by direct contact with the blood of an infected animal or human as well as the secretions of an infected person.
"The animal handling history of the deceased was positive and I have directed the relevant town health officer to brief the family, relatives and friends of the patient as well as workers at the farm about precautionary measures to avoid further transmission of the virus," said the health director.
He added that the funeral and burial of the deceased will be carried out under 'safe burial practices' as directed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the bodies of confirmed CCHF patients.
Protocol for burial
According to experts, the body of a confirmed patient should be wrapped in a shroud (kafan) for burial. The body should be sprayed with 1:10 liquid bleach solution and then placed in a plastic bag which should be sealed with adhesive tape. "After wrapping the body in kafan, it will be sprayed with the solution made up of one-part bleach mixed with 10-parts of water and then placed in a plastic bag and sealed with adhesive tape."
The health director also posed concerns about thousands of animals being brought in the metropolis in the absence of any inspection arrangements by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) veterinary department. "I have formally requested the KMC director of veterinary services, Imran Qadeer, to do the needful, otherwise the CCHF can turn into an epidemic," said Ejaz.
Last year, the provincial health department had recorded 16 Congo fever cases in Karachi — the highest annual tally since the authorities started documenting the cases in 2000. Six of these patients died of the disease, which corresponded with the global mortality rate of up to 40 per cent, according to the WHO's fact-sheet on the virus.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2015.
A 38-year-old man died at Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton on Saturday after being suspected for the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a day earlier.
Subject to confirmation, the case will make him the first reported casualty of the year, by the vector-borne disease usually transmitted by Hyalomma ticks. The patient, Sabir Majeed, was brought to the healthcare facility on Friday, where he was suspected to be suffering from the CCHF, due to acute symptoms of the disease, including high-grade fever with massive internal as well as nasal and oral bleeding.
"At the hospital, he underwent intensive care in isolation but his condition continued to deteriorate as he suffered complete shutdown of vital organs," a hospital spokesperson told The Express Tribune. "Our internal laboratory reports reflected the onset of CCHF, however the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test report, based on the patient's blood samples, have yet to arrive from Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) to substantiate our reservations."
A majority of the public and private healthcare facilities in the metropolis do not have the ability to rapidly detect the CCHF, admitted Karachi health director Zafar Ejaz when approached by The Express Tribune. "Almost all the hospitals depend on the AKUH for the CCHF's detection because the handling of the specialised test requires expertise as well as investment."
Majeed, a resident of the Bhains Colony in Landi, owned a cattle farm, from where he apparently contracted the virus when bitten by a tick, mostly found on the skin of animals including goats and sheep. However, the CCHF can also be transmitted by direct contact with the blood of an infected animal or human as well as the secretions of an infected person.
"The animal handling history of the deceased was positive and I have directed the relevant town health officer to brief the family, relatives and friends of the patient as well as workers at the farm about precautionary measures to avoid further transmission of the virus," said the health director.
He added that the funeral and burial of the deceased will be carried out under 'safe burial practices' as directed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the bodies of confirmed CCHF patients.
Protocol for burial
According to experts, the body of a confirmed patient should be wrapped in a shroud (kafan) for burial. The body should be sprayed with 1:10 liquid bleach solution and then placed in a plastic bag which should be sealed with adhesive tape. "After wrapping the body in kafan, it will be sprayed with the solution made up of one-part bleach mixed with 10-parts of water and then placed in a plastic bag and sealed with adhesive tape."
The health director also posed concerns about thousands of animals being brought in the metropolis in the absence of any inspection arrangements by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's (KMC) veterinary department. "I have formally requested the KMC director of veterinary services, Imran Qadeer, to do the needful, otherwise the CCHF can turn into an epidemic," said Ejaz.
Last year, the provincial health department had recorded 16 Congo fever cases in Karachi — the highest annual tally since the authorities started documenting the cases in 2000. Six of these patients died of the disease, which corresponded with the global mortality rate of up to 40 per cent, according to the WHO's fact-sheet on the virus.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 17th, 2015.