KARACHI: At least 18 people have been killed in 2016 from Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, or Congo virus in Pakistan.
According to details, the virus has killed at least 11 people in Quetta, five in Karachi and two in Punjab province.
On Friday, a 22-year-old patient Allah Ditta died at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) in Karachi, the latest to fall to the deadly disease.
With Eid-ul-Azha almost upon us, health experts are advising the citizens to take special preventive measures to protect from carrying the virus.
According to them, healthcare workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Congo virus or handling specimens from them should implement standard infection control precautions.
These include basic hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices and safe burial practices, Dr Wasim Khawaja a public health specialist at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said.
He said that to reduce the risk people should wear protective clothing like long sleeves or long trousers and wear light coloured clothing to allow easy detection of ticks on the clothes.
He said people should use approved chemicals intended to kill ticks on clothing use approved repellent on the skin and clothing regularly examine clothing and skin for ticks if found remove them and avoid areas where ticks are abundant and seasons when they are most active.
Meanwhile, the health department has so far also not distributed any gloves, jackets, and any other mandatory safety accessories for the handling of Congo virus patients at public-sector hospitals.
The Crimean?Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widespread viral disease that is commonly spread by ticks found on hairy animals.
The situation needs extra attention as cattle markets are being set up across the country for public to buy sacrificial animals for the religious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
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