MoPH announces of (CCHF) disease

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced about the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) disease in the country.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus) in the family Bunyaviridae. The disease was first characterized in the Crimea in 1944 and given the name Crimean hemorrhagic fever. It was then later recognized in 1969 as the cause of illness in the Congo, thus resulting in the current name of the disease.

Officials in the ministry said that 35 suspected cases of the disease have been seen within six months, and only 10 cases have been confirmed so far.

The ministry expresses readiness over the specific features and measures to protect and cure the disease.

The present study showed that seroepidemiology of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is not highly prevalent in high risk professions in Afghanistan. However, further surveillance and prevention programs are recommended.

The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. The majority of cases have occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians.

Human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons. Hospital-acquired infections can also occur due to improper sterilization of medical equipment, reuse of needles and contamination of medical supplies.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is found in Eastern Europe, particularly in the former Soviet Union, throughout the Mediterranean, in northwestern China, central Asia, southern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.

Reported by Ahmad Shoayb Sidiqi