TICK-BORNE

A tick on skin
Image via twitter @LymeAction

Namibia confirms outbreak of Tick-Borne Haemorrhagic Fever

Outbreak of tick-borne fever claims life one in Namibia. Authorities are monitoring dozens of people after one person died from Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever.

TICK-BORNE

A tick on skin
Image via twitter @LymeAction

The Namibia health authorities confirmed an outbreak of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, following the death of one-person last week in the eastern town of Gobabis. In a statement made by the Ministry of Health and Social Services confirmed that lab tests performed on the male patient confirmed the illness.

The patient was suspected of having the virus when he was first admitted to the clinic in Gobabis, on May 16th. The patient was placed into isolation then was later transferred to Windhoek Central Hospital where he died on May 18th. 27 people that came into contact with the patient that was infected have been identified, 24 of those people being health workers. They are being monitored for any sign of the virus. 

ALSO READ: Congo fever outbreak: one dead in Namibia

Tests results confirmed that the patient had Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, which is a tick-borne virus. The virus can be transferred between humans by close contact with blood or through bodily fluids, the fatality rate of the disease is between 10 and 40% says the World Health Organisation. 

Symptoms of the virus include, fever, vomiting, dizziness, light sensitivity and muscle ache, which lead to organ failure and cause internal bleeding. The symptoms can develop quickly and lead to severe sickness. The virus was first detected in Crimea in 1944. Recent outbreak of the virus in Africa have been seen in Senegal with one case in April.

The Namibian government has started a health emergency committee to prevent further transitions and are closely monitoring all contacts of the deceased in Gobabis and Windhoek. The country has recorded six cases the outbreak of the fever back in 2016 with a total of three deaths.

ALSO READ: Farms quarantined following African Swine Fever outbreak in Gauteng

Senegal Crimean-Congo fever case

In April Reuters reported on a case of CCHF. The case was confirmed in a hospital in the outskirts of the capital Dakar. The case was first detected on the 21st of April in Dalal Jamm hospital in Guediawaye, said the health ministry in a statement. According to the Africa Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention, the largest recent outbreak was 35 cases with six deaths that was detected in Mauritania in 2003 followed by South Africa in 2011 with 11 cases 

ALSO READ: Farms quarantined following African Swine Fever outbreak in Gauteng

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY MARIANA CHIWAYA