Pakistan: Another person tests positive for Congo fever in Karachi

The 52-year-old patient, a resident of Ittehad Town, was admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) two days back.

Karachi: Another person has tested positive for the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in Karachi, ARY News reported on Saturday citing health authorities. ARY News is a Pakistani news channel.

The 52-year-old patient, a resident of Ittehad Town, was admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) two days back. He tested positive for Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) on Friday, as per the health department.

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The patient had been rearing a goat for a month, they said, as per ARY News. Earlier this month, a total of 17 patients including both suspected and those who tested positive for CCHF were brought to Karachi. Of them, two passed away and others recovered.

In 2023, Karachi reported three localised cases of the tick-borne viral illness with one death.

Recently, a doctor who was diagnosed with the Congo virus died in Pakistan’s Quetta, ARY News reported.

According to the doctors’ spokesperson, the man passed away while he was being shifted to Karachi for treatment.

This is not the first instance that an epidemic of Congo virus fever has broken out in Balochistan. In the late 80s and mid-90s, dozens of people died of the disease, health sources said.

The Congo virus is primarily transmitted to humans by ticks on cattle and other livestock and can cause severe fever, muscle pain, vomiting, and internal bleeding. It has a high fatality rate, and currently, no vaccine or specific treatment is available for the virus.