The first death from the disease, known as Congo fever, was reported on Friday in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and capital of Sindh province.
According to Pakistani health officials, the victim was a 28-year-old butcher who first complained of a fever on April 30.
According to Al Jazeera, when his condition did not improve, he was transferred to a local hospital two days later, but his condition continued to deteriorate. Test results for dengue and malaria were also negative. This patient was transferred to the intensive care unit on Thursday after testing positive for Congo fever and died a day later.
Also, on Sunday, a 20-year-old woman died of Congo fever in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province in the southwest of this country.
A Pakistani health official told Al Jazeera that the woman was admitted to a hospital in Quetta last week.
According to this Pakistani health official, a total of 16 cases of Congo fever virus have been recorded in Balochistan since the beginning of this year, 11 of which were identified this month.
The Pakistani health official admitted, “We are conducting checks for every suspected case, while also working on treatment and spreading awareness.” He said: Since this disease is caused by animals, our livestock department is working on deworming and treating animals that enter Balochistan.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is an acute febrile and haemorrhagic disease transmitted by tick bites or contact with blood, secretions, or carcasses of infected animals and humans. Its symptoms include fever, muscle aches, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, back pain, headache, eye pain, and photophobia (sensitivity to light). Also, this viral disease can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, sore throat, and severe mood swings.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East, and some parts of Asia. The disease is also caused by a virus from the Buniaviridae family and the genus Neurovirus.
