ISLAMABAD, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has reported another death from Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), raising the provincial toll to six this year, health authorities said Friday.
The latest victim, a 28-year-old man from provincial capital Karachi’s Landhi area, was admitted to Jinnah Hospital on Sept. 24 with high fever, bleeding and low blood pressure, according to a notification from the Sindh health department.
He was placed in isolation but died the same day. Laboratory tests later confirmed CCHF through polymerase chain reaction (PCR), while tests for malaria and dengue were negative, it added.
Of the six fatalities in Sindh so far this year, five were reported in Karachi and one in Thatta district, officials said. The first death was recorded in June and the previous one in August.
CCHF, characterized by fever, muscle pain and bleeding, has a fatality rate of 10 to 40 percent. The virus is transmitted to humans mainly through tick bites or contact with infected livestock or blood.
Pakistan continues to experience sporadic outbreaks of the disease, particularly in livestock-rearing provinces. The country’s National Institute of Health has issued advisories for prevention and control, while provincial authorities have urged heightened vigilance to curb further spread of the tick-borne virus. ■