Namibian authorities are monitoring dozens of people after a person died from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic, the southern African nation’s Health Ministry said.
(Bloomberg) — Namibian authorities are monitoring dozens of people after a person died from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic, the southern African nation’s Health Ministry said.
The authorities identified 27 people who came into contact with the infected patient, the ministry said in an emailed statement Tuesday. The individuals, who include 24 health workers, are being closely monitored to prevent the spread of the disease, it said.
The male patient was suspected of having the virus when he was first treated at a clinic in the eastern city of Gobabis on May 16. He was later transferred to a hospital in the capital, Windhoek, where he died on May 18, the ministry said
Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease typically spread by ticks or contact with infected animals. The majority of cases are diagnosed in people working in the livestock industry, with transmission through contact with infected animal blood or tissue during slaughter, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
The virus is endemic in Africa and has case fatality rate of 40%, according to the Africa CDC website. It’s also been identified in parts of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Symptoms of the virus, to which there’s no effective vaccine for either people or animals, include fever, headache, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain and sore eyes.
In April, a man died in Senegal after being diagnosed with the virus.
Read More: Senegal Monitors Cattle After Man Dies From Tick-Borne Illness
Namibia has had outbreaks of the disease in the past, including between 2017 and 2020, when six confirmed cases were identified and three people died.
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