People advised to adopt precautionary measures against Congo virus on Eid

News Desk

LAHORE: Public Health Experts have said that the risk of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV), transmitted by biting a person with ticks on the skin of an infected animal had been increased.

This was expressed by the experts, in an awareness seminar on CCHFV organized by the Institute of Public Health (IPH) in Lahore on Friday.

The symptoms of Congo hemorrhagic fever are very similar to dengue, but Congo virus is very dangerous for human life as it starts bleeding at a very initial stage: Health Experts

The participants of the seminar were informed about the symptoms of Crimean Congo fever, precautionary and protective measures for doctors as well as nurses treating infected patients in hospitals (if any).

The health experts urged the people to be satisfied when buying sacrificial animals so that there would be no ticks on the animals’ bodies. They said, “If the blood of an animal infected with Congo virus is mixed with a wound on a person’s body part, the virus could be transmitted to the person concerned, so it was important to be very careful when slaughtering animals so as protect themselves from being cut with a knife.”

If any patient came to the hospital infected with Congo virus, medical staff should treat the patient by wearing full safety kit: Professor of Infectious Diseases Dr Sobia Qazi

The health experts further said: “The symptoms of Congo hemorrhagic fever are very similar to dengue, but Congo virus is very dangerous for human life as it starts bleeding at the very initial stage.”

Professor of Infectious Diseases Dr Sobia Qazi said that if any patient came to the hospital infected with the Congo virus, the doctors, nurses and other staff deputed for treatment should treat the patient wearing a full safety kit so that they themselves could be protected from this deadly virus. She said the affected patient should be kept in quarantine and all standard operating procedures (SoPs) should be strictly followed in the treatment of the patient.

There is no risk of Congo virus if the public make sure use disposable gloves while washing sacrificial meat: IPH Acting Dean Dr Saima Ayub

IPH Acting Dean Dr Saima Ayub said that by using disposable gloves while washing the meat, and by eating the meat cooked well, there was no risk of Congo fever and the cooked meat was completely healthy.

She said that it was also the responsibility of animal keepers and animal handlers to spray the anti-tick chemical on animals’ bodies so that ticks might not stick to the skin of the animals which was equally dangerous to the lives of the buyers as well as the animals’ owners. Dr Saima said that the Institute of Public Health would continue to play its role in raising awareness about public health issues.