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Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever
What you need to know about the disease
Facts about Crimean- Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF)
- The CCHF virus causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever(VHF) outbreaks in humans.
- CCHF outbreaks can cause death to about 40 per cent of the people who get the infection.
- The virus is transmitted to people from ticks and wild and domestic animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission, through contact with blood, other body secretions or tissues of infected humans or animals.
- Animals do not show any clinical signs when infected with CCHF.
- CCHF is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia.
- There is no available CCHF vaccine for either people or animals.
What are the signs and symptoms of CCHF?
A person with CCHF can have the following signs & symptoms:
- Sudden on-set of high fever
- Headache
- Back pain
- Joint pain
- Abdominal pain
- Dizziness (feeling that you are losing your balance and about to fall)
- Neck pain and stiffness
- The person has been in contact with a person who has similar symptoms or animals infested with ticks, or has had a tick bite.
In addition, the person can also have any of the following:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Sore throat
- Sharp mood swings
- Confusion
- Bleeding, bruising, or a rash
After 2 or 4 days, the patient may experience sleeplessness and depression
How can a person avoid getting CCHF?
In order to prevent Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, you are advised to:
- Check yourself for ticks after working with animals and remove them immediately.
- If your animals are infested with ticks spray them using a recommended acaricide to kill the ticks.
- Avoid direct physical contact with body fluids such as blood, saliva, vomit, stool, urine and sweat from an infected person.
- Wash your hands with soap and clean water immediately if you get in contact with a suspected patient.
- Do not use skin piercing instruments which have been used by a person suspected to have CCHF.
- Avoid direct contact with dead bodies of people who have died of CCHF.
- Avoid using bed linen and clothes of people who have died of CCHF.