ISLAMABAD: As Eidul Azha draws near, health experts have urged citizens to remain cautious of the Congo virus while purchasing and sacrificing animals.
Congo virus is a disease that is commonly spread by ticks found on hairy animals. Daily Times spoke to many medical experts who said that the situation needed extra attention as cattle markets were being set up across the country for public to buy sacrificial animals for Eidul Azha.
Waseem Khawaja, a doctor working at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), said that with increasing cases of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever in the country and Eid around the corner, people should be extra vigilant to protect themselves from this potentially fatal infection.
He said that Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever resulted from the bite of ticks which fed on an infected animal or from exposure to blood or tissues during or immediately after slaughtering an infected animal or from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.
Dr Khawaja said that preparing meat form an infected animal should be carried out wearing hand gloves. Eating meat from an infected animal is safe only if it is cooked well.
Dr Sharif Asthori from Policlinic Hospital said that there were some groups of people who had more chances of contracting the disease. “They are: animal herders, livestock workers, slaughterhouse workers, any person in contact with livestock animals and any person in contact with an infected person,” he said.
Moreover, people should wear light colored full sleeved and buttoned clothing and shoes with socks while coming in contact with animals. “People should also apply insect repellents on the exposed areas of the body. They should inspect themselves for ticks and take a shower immediately after slaughtering animals,” he said.
Beside this, he suggested that they should cover their mouths and noses with a mask while sacrificing animals. Offal or blood of the sacrificial animals should not be thrown on the streets.
According to Dr Ashtori, the symptoms of this disease (Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever) include high fever along with pain in joints and other parts of the body, vomiting, diarrhea, some people also exhibit signs of hemorrhage. Throat pain is also one of the common discomforts experienced as a symptom of this condition. Bleeding from gums, skin and large intestine may also occur and red spot appears on the body.
He said that after feeling such symptoms, the patients should visit doctors immediately. “Severe bruising and nose bleeds symptoms occur 1 to 3 days after the tick bite and 5 to 7 days after exposure to infected blood of humans. Such person should immediately seek medical attention,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever or Congo virus caused the death of around 23 people last year in various parts of Pakistan including Karachi, Quetta and Bahawalpur.
Published in Daily Times, September 1st 2017.