A resident from Tehsil Kahuta, located 42 kilometers from Rawalpindi, has been diagnosed with Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) and is currently receiving treatment at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH). In the past two weeks, two other patients with Congo fever have sadly died at the same hospital.
Iram, a 41-year-old woman from a Kahuta village and the wife of Sultan, was admitted to BBH showing symptoms of CCHF and has since tested positive for the disease. According to hospital officials, her condition is currently stable. The two previous Congo fever fatalities at BBH occurred on July 8 and July 13. The deceased were Hassan, a 27-year-old from Chakwal district and the son of Fiaz, and Naseem, a 35-year-old from the same district and the wife of Asif.
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Dr. Inayat ur Rahman, Additional Medical Superintendent (Administration) at BBH, noted that although the recent fatalities were from different families, all CCHF cases treated at BBH this year have been linked to a history of handling animals. Over the past two and a half months, BBH has reported four deaths from Congo fever, including two patients from Attock District who died on May 3 and May 20. Dr. Rahman described the CCHF cases at BBH as sporadic.
Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is caused by the Nairovirus, which belongs to the Bunyaviridae family. It spreads to humans through bites from Hyalomma ticks or direct contact with the blood of infected animals or humans. First described in Crimea in 1944 and identified in Congo in 1956, CCHF has a mortality rate of 2% to 50% in treated cases and 50% to 90% in untreated cases.
