KARACHI: The Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) claimed another life on Monday raising the death toll from the tick-borne disease to seven this year in the city.

This time the victim was an Airport Security Force (ASF) inspector.

According to ASF sources, Mohammad Sagheer, in his early 50s, was a resident of Bhittaiabad, a residential colony near the airport.

“He was admitted with high-grade fever along with other complications to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Malir Cantonment on Sept 14. Later, he was shifted to a private hospital, where he died early in the morning on Sept 19,” said director for health services, Karachi, Dr Shakoor Abbasi.

Sagheer’s diagnostic tests were done on Sept 15 which came positive for CCHF, he added.

According to sources, the patient died at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).

From the seven who died of Congo fever in Karachi this year, two were Afghan nationals, while the same number hailed from the Bahawalpur district of Punjab. One was a resident of Karachi while the remaining came from elsewhere in Sindh. Sagheer was the seventh victim.

A CCHF patient is currently under treatment at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Officials in the health ministry said they had received reports of CCHF cases from various parts of the province. All 63 confirmed cases had been reported in Karachi.

The CCHF virus is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals while human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.

Experts believe that the absence of preventive measures to keep livestock free of external and internal parasites, lack of awareness among people regarding safe contact with animals, delay in patient arrival at hospitals that results from lack of training to medical professionals in differentiating the CCHF from other viral fevers, and an acute shortage of diagnostic facilities are key factors behind mortalities caused by the disease.

CCHF diagnostic facilities are only available at the AKUH and the National Institute of Health, Islamabad.

Dengue death?

Meanwhile, 13-year-old Mehfooz Urooj, diagnosed with dengue fever and other health complications died at a private hospital.

“Since the girl had other health complications, for instance, congenital brain disease along with liver failure, we haven’t categorised her death as a mortality caused by dengue fever,” said programme manager of the Dengue Prevention and Control Programme Dr Masood Solangi.

The death had been taken as a dengue fever positive case, though, he added.

Published in Dawn September 20th, 2016