KARACHI: A 42-year-old man lost his life after contracting the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), marking the first confirmed fatality from the virus in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province this year, the health department said on Wednesday.
The fatality rate for the Congo virus ranges from 10 percent to 40 percent, depending on the quality of health care, timeliness of treatment and the patient’s overall health, according to the World Health Organization.
The virus, which is endemic in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia, is primarily transmitted through tick bites or contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals.
“First case of Congo virus [has been] reported in Sindh,” the Sindh Health Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
“42-year-old male was a resident of District Malir,” it continued. “The test report came out positive on June 16 and the patient passed away on June 17.”
Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province reported 23 Congo virus cases in 2024, with five deaths since January last year.
Local medical practitioners said most cases were diagnosed during the summer, when the likelihood of the virus spreading increases, particularly around the Eid Al-Adha festival.
The Islamic holiday, marked by the mass slaughter of animals, typically leads to greater human-animal interaction and exposure to infected livestock.
Pakistan witnessed its first case of Congo virus in 1976 and remained a major victim for years, according to the National Library of Medicine.
The country faces major challenges in combating Congo virus every year due to its specific geographical position and a majority of the population being involved with animal husbandry, it added.
There is no approved vaccine for its prevention.
The European Medicines Agency in May 2024 approved a Phase I clinical trial in Sweden for a DNA-based vaccine candidate, N-pVAX1, targeting the Congo virus.
Separately, the University of Oxford in August 2023 launched a Phase I trial of its ChAdOx2 CCHF vaccine, based on the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 platform, to assess safety and immune response.
