Sindh reported its first death of the year from the Congo fever as a 42-year-old man in Karachi passed away after being diagnosed a day earlier, as per a statement from the provincial health ministry’s media coordinator on Wednesday.

According to the WHO, the Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), commonly known as Congo Virus, causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks with a case fatality rate of 10-40 per cent. There is no vaccine available for the disease. According to experts, the CCHF virus is primarily transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. In April, the National Institute of Health (NIH) issued an advisory urging prevention of Congo fever ahead of Eidul Azha.

The 42-year-old man, a resident of District Malir, was admitted to Indus Hospital in Korangi, where he tested positive for CCHF on June 16, Media coordinator for the Sindh health ministry, Meeran Yousuf told Dawn.com.

The patient passed away the next day. A team of health experts visited his residence but found the door locked.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Yousuf said, “The team assumed that the family took away the body for burial at their native place somewhere.”

The disease can spread via human-to-human transmission, from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons, according to the WHO.

Onset of symptoms is sudden, with fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, headache, sore eyes and sensitivity to light.

On Tuesday, a 22-year-old animal handler from the North Waziristan tribal district died of CCHF at the Hayatabad Medical Complex.

The first case of the disease in Pakistan was reported in 1976 when a surgeon, along with three healthcare providers, died following an infection from a patient.