General Congo fever confirmed A press release from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed a case of Congo fever in Belfast, Mpumalanga 08 July 2013 | Daleen Naude The farmer was treated in isolation in a Middelburg hospital and then transferred to a Pretoria hospital for further care. The diagnosis was confirmed at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in Johannesburg on Friday. The patient is responding well to treatment. As is routine, close contacts of the patient will be monitored for 14 days. Casual contact with a patient with Congo fever poses no risk. No secondary cases have been reported to date. Crimean - Congo haemorrhagic fever or “Congo fever” is well- described in South Africa although it is uncommon, with limited cases confirmed each year, mainly in persons working in the agriculture sector. The virus is transmitted to humans by specific ticks, “Bontpoot ticks”, or through handling of blood of infected animals during slaughtering or similar processes. While livestock are infected through the ticks that feed on them the animals do not suffer any illness and will be immune to subsequent infections. There is no risk to people through handling of meat products or through consuming meat as the virus dies very quickly after the animal has been slaughtered. Three other cases of Congo fever have been confirmed in South Africa in 2013 to date, one in the North West Province and two in the Free State Province. All three patients survived.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:47:38 +0000
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