Preventive steps taken in Oman after solitary Congo Fever case

Muscat: Following the death of a man due to Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Buraimi, the ministry of agriculture and fisheries said that it’s just a single case and the disease has not spread to other areas.
In a statement, the ministry said that the livestock farm has been quarantined and precautionary measures have been taken to protect people in the area. The statement also added that they suspect that the victim contracted the disease from an infected livestock.
According to reports, after the death, the commercial livestock farm where the man was working was quarantined by the Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock in Al Buraimi. Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne viral disease that is endemic to Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia.
Last December, a top official of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Oman said there was an urgent need for formulating a comprehensive prevention and control strategy for Congo Fever in the region, in view of the increasing incidents of the disease.
“The CCHF is the most widespread tick-borne viral infection, and one of the rapidly emerging viral haemorrhagic fevers in humans, occurring across many countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region,” Dr. Abdullah Al Sa’edi, the WHO representative in Oman, said.
“Sporadic human cases and outbreaks of CCHF have been reported from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates,” Dr. Abdullah noted. “The situation is particularly alarming in Pakistan, where CCHF has been steadily increasing, from 62 cases in 2012 to 154 cases in 2014, with the fatality rate ranging from 20 to 30 per cent,” the official added.