Fever outbreak in Ahmedabad controllable, says ICMR

Tests conducted at National Institute of Virology (ICMR, Pune) have confirmed the presence of Crimea Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus in blood as well as urine samples of the patient in the first-ever case of human infection reported from Ahmedabad.

ICMR, however, has assured that CCHF outbreaks can easily be controlled by proper hygiene and infection control measures in the hospitals where patients are admitted.

Similar precautions should be taken in the community specially while slaughtering the animals from whose tissues the infection can spread to humans, ICMR said.

"After proper control measure, the outbreaks can be successfully handled locally. In this instance awareness among the doctors and also prompt diagnosis at NIV is an evidence of the competence of our system and there should be no reason for any panic reaction," ICMR said in a release.

The CCHF virus is known to be transmitted among animals through ticks. It does not produce disease in animals but kills from 20 to 40 per cent of humans beings that get the disease.

ICMR adds that typically, after a one to three day incubation period following a tick bite (5-6 days after exposure to infected blood or tissues), flu-like symptoms appear, which may resolve after one week. In up to 75 per cent of cases, however, signs of hemorrhage appear within 3-5 days of the onset of illness.