ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health and the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) held a meeting on Tuesday regarding the development of a strategy to curtail the Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), following a recent surge in Congo virus cases.
The consultative meeting aimed to develop a strategy for the prevention and control of the virus, which has infected and subsequently killed many people in Pakistan, said a statement issued from the institute.
In the meeting, representatives from the federal and provincial human, health and livestock departments deliberated the latest situation with regards to the Congo virus in Pakistan and presented their recommendations.
Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, the executive director of NIH, remarked that with the absence of an effective surveillance system and community participation, the public health system cannot work efficiently.
He added that there was a dire need to establish an effective inter-sector coordination mechanism among relevant stakeholders, especially public health, animal health and environment agencies.
Ahmad also stated that efforts are currently being made to establish a real-time integrated disease surveillance and response system (IDSR) in collaboration with technical partners.
It was reported that at the end of the meeting, the participants developed comprehensive strategy in which they designed a contingency plan for prevention and control of the disease and also identified the roles and responsibilities of the concerned authorities and departments.
Experts claim that the Congo virus is a deadly disease which is spread through tick bites found on animals. People who deal with dairy farming and livestock are likely to get infected and carry the virus. As the infected person can infect other people, strict precautionary measures are necessary.
Mostly cases of CCHF are reported from March to May and August to October and there is an increased risk of CCHF virus transmission during Eidul Azha due to the tick infected animal’s exposure and massive movement of animals throughout the country.
So far, 11 cases of the deadly virus have been reported in 2017 in the country.
In May this year, a patient admitted to Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital, in Quetta, on suspicion of Congo virus passed away.
Doctors had stated that no blood samples could be withdrawn from the patient before his death, emphasising how critical his condition had become.