PESHAWAR: Health department has issued guidelines to all hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding diagnosis, management, prevention and control of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever as the province has been recording cases of the disease ahead of Eidul Azha.

The advisory has been prepared by National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad and circulated by Dr Mohammad Naeem Khan, the additional director-general of health services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The advisory has asked hospitals that increased interaction between human and animals in cattle markets ahead of Eidul Azha poses a risk of Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) transmission, a severe and contagious viral disease, and measures are required to control it.

District health officers, medical superintendents and medical directors of medical teaching institutions have been instructed to ensure dissemination of the advisory to all healthcare providers for strict adherence and collect sample from suspected CCHF patients and send the same to Public Health Reference Laboratory at Khyber Medical University.

Officials said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was recording CCHF cases and mortalities due to which precautionary measures were important. The health department has also issued guidelines on case detection and management, asking hospitals to send samples of suspected patients to Public Health Reference Laboratory of Khyber Medical University for free testing.

Hospitals asked to send samples of suspected patients to Public Health Reference Laboratory

According to them, several types of wild and domestic animals such as goats, sheep, cows and hares serve as amplifying hosts for the virus, which causes viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks.

Last year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded three deaths from CCHF linked to high-risk activities ahead of Eidul Azha. In 2023; the province witnessed four deaths due to Congo fever and 14 cases of the disease mainly in Peshawar, the provincial metropolis.

The advisory issued by Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan stated that cases typically reached peak during or just before Eidul Azha, as increased livestock trading and handling raised human exposure to infected ticks. According to it, CCHF is a viral zoonotic disease caused by a tick-borne virus that leads severe viral haemorrhagic fever with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 10 per cent to 40 per cent. Globally three billion people are at risk of CCHF, with 10,000 to 15,000 infections and approximately 500 deaths reported annually.

Since the confirmation of the first human case of CCHF in Pakistan in 1976, sporadic cases have continued to occur in various geographical regions of the country. Balochistan remains the most affected province by the disease owing to cross-border livestock transportation from Afghanistan and Iran. However, cases of Congo fever are also reported from other provinces of the country every year.

During 2024, a total of 61 confirmed cases of CCHF were reported nationwide, with a 15pc CFR. In 2025, reported cases rose significantly to 82 with 20 deaths, reflecting a CFR of approximately 24.4pc notably higher than both the preceding year and the upper bound of the globally reported range.

As of March 2026, four cases have been reported in Pakistan so far. Due to the high disease transmission and risk owing to anticipated increased human-animals interaction during upcoming Eidul-Azha, it is imperative to be vigilant about the situation and take necessary steps to interrupt the transmission of CCHF, according to the advisory.

The advisory is meant to sensitise human and animal health care authorities and other relevant stakeholders to further strengthen and improve the level of preparedness for prevention and control of the disease.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026