2 weeks Ago
A 51-year-old Rajasthan woman died on Wednesday after contracting Congo fever. She was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ahmedabad. The deceased woman, whose blood sample was found positive, died at Ahmedabad's NHL Municipal Medical College.
The disease, caused by a virus, is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. Following the death of the Jodhpur woman, the medical and health departme nt of the state issued guidelines for all private and government medical institutions to prevent its spread and protect against the disease. Pune's National Institute of Virology examined the blood sample of the woman which showed strains of the disease.
“The Chief Medical and Health Officer of Jodhpur has been instructed to prevent the infection by sending a rapid response team to the affected area,” PTI quoted Public Health Director Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur as saying. To control the spread of the disease, the rapid response team has been instructed to trace suspected and symptomatic patients in the area and keep them in isolation. The medical practitioner said that Congo fever is a zoonotic viral disease, which is caused by tick bites.
In the wake of the recent death, the authorities instructed the Animal Husbandry Department to take necessary steps to prevent and control this disease. Furthermore, directives have been issued to take all precautionary measures and create awareness to prevent the spread of the disease across the state. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), the viral fever typically transmitted by ticks, can be contracted through contact with viraemic animal tissues (animal tissue where the virus has entered the bloodstream) during and immediately post-slaughter of animals.
Symptoms Notably, the guidelines state that if any person shows Congo fever symptoms, a blood sample must be taken and promptly sent for examination..
