RAWALPINDI, Feb 20: A woman, suspected to be suffering from Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), died here at the Rawalpindi General Hospital, hospital sources told Dawn on Thursday.

The hospital administration has closed down portions of the labour room and the operation theatre where the patient had stayed for disinfection purposes.

According to the protocol all such places remain closed for 72 hours. Patients, because of the closure of the operation theatre and labour room, had to be transferred to other hospitals of the city.

Ms Nazia had been brought to the hospital for her first delivery from Kahuta. Caesarean was performed because of foetal distress, the doctors said, and added that the patient started bleeding profusely after the operation.

“Despite our best efforts the bleeding could not be checked,” a doctor said.

Asked for reasons for suspecting her to be suffering from CCHF, the doctor said, her clinical symptoms and history were dangerously pointing towards the possibility of CCHF. Besides bleeding, the doctor said, she had very high fever.

Blood samples of the patient have been sent to National Institute of Health (NIH) for analysis. The NIH does not have the facility for testing CCHF, therefore, samples will be forwarded to South Africa.

Talking to this reporter, Dr Asma Usmani, head of the gynaecology department, said everything was under control and there was no reason to panic. She said the situation was being observed strictly.

“CCHF is being considered only as a possibility,” she clarified.

Dr Usmani said the list of contacts with the patient had been prepared and would be put on prophylactic treatment from Friday.

The case of the tick-borne virus has raised alarms among the doctors at the RGH and the patients.

A doctor, Dr Farzana, had died last year at Holy Family Hospital after contracting the disease from one of her patient. The patient too had died. These cases had occurred exactly a year ago.

One of RGH’s doctor, Dr Mateen Siddiqui, had also fallen victim to this disease. He had died in 1974 and had also contracted the disease from a patient.

The incubation period of the disease is about 14 days and the illness manifests itself as fever, headache, shivering and diarrhoea. The disease is transmitted to human beings by ticks and also acquired by direct contact with blood and secretions of the infected patients.