india

Updated: Aug 27, 2019 11:37 IST

Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever virus has made an appearance in Gujarat after three years and claimed a life on Monday with another suspected case being reported.

Sukhiben Meniya (75) from Jamdi village in the Limbdi taluka of Surendranagar district, died at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run Sardar Vallabbhai Patel (SCP) Hospital around midnight on Sunday, hospital officials said on Monday.

``Pune-based National Institute for Virology, where Meniya’s samples were sent, tested it positive for the Congo fever,’’ said AMC Health Officer Dr Bhavin Solanki.

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever is a zoonotic viral disease transmitted from animals to humans by a ticks that kills. It has fatality rate of up to 30% of those infected.

According to hospital records, Meniya was shifted from CU Shah Civil Hospital in Surendranagar to SCP Hospital in Ahmedabad on August 20. Another patient suspected to be suffering from the disease, a 25-year-old man, has also been admitted in the same hospital in Ahmedabad.

As a precaution, Solanki said, the paramedic staff involved in her treatment has also been tested and treated -- including three staff members who developed mild fever.

The SVP authorities have also alerted CU Shah hospital where a woman, who was admitted along with Meniya and treated for dengue, died on August 20.

In 2016, the fever claimed the life of a farmer from Ahmedabad district.

According to the World Health Organisation, the virus is primarily transmitted to people from infected ticks and livestock animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur from close contact -- through blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids -- of infected persons.

The first Congo fever outbreak in India was reported from Gujarat in 2011; three people died in that. Since then, there have been reports of the virus infecting people in several districts of Gujarat. The last major outbreak was reported in 2016, according to health department officials.

Dr Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed the death was due to CCHF virus in Gujarat. “Our NIV team has confirmed a case and the healthcare workers in the state have been alerted and asked to take precautions such as wearing personal protection equipment etc,” he said.