The health department in Pakistan’s Sindh province has confirmed the first case of this year’s deadly Congo virus in Karachi, media reports said on Sunday. According to health officials, 28-year-old Muhammad Adil, a resident of Nazimabad, had come to Ziauddin Hospital as an outpatient on Thursday this week. Parliamentary Secretary on Health Kasim Siraj Soomro said the health facility took samples from the patient and sent them to the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), where laboratory results confirmed he had contracted the Congo virus, The Express Tribune reported.
Soomro said the health department received the results on Sunday evening and immediately sent a team to Adil’s residence to bring him to the Infectious Diseases Hospital. This is the first case of Congo virus in the country this year and medical experts have warned that the virus is very dangerous as it can cause bleeding in very early stages, reports Express Tribune.
While the symptoms of Congo virus are similar to those of dengue fever, they can quickly become life-threatening. The health department has urged citizens to take precautions to avoid exposure to the virus, such as wearing protective clothing and using insect repellent when in contact with cattle or other livestock.
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Congo virus, or Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), 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 mortality rate, and there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus, the Express Tribune reported.