Is it the end of the Congo fever virus?

Almost a month after it was first detected in Ahmedabad, the deadly Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus seems to be finally dying down. Four persons had fallen prey to it within a fortnight of the first case being reported and nine others also contracted the virus. But thereafter, the spread of the disease has more or less been checked.

The virus that spreads through ticks claimed its first victim in India in the form of Ameena Momin, a resident of Kolat village near Sanand, in the first week of January. Her death was caused by a rapid physical deterioration but the reason of her weakening could not be ascertained.

Ameena's death would have gone unnoticed but as luck would have it, a doctor and a nurse who were amongst those who had treated her, also experienced rapid physical deterioration and subsequently died mid-January. The two deaths shook the government and measures were initiated to identify the mystery fever and to prevent it from spreading further. The virus was diagnosed as CCHF on January 18.

Though common in some other countries, this was the first instance of it having been spotted in India. The disease had already claimed three lives in no time and what had led to worries was that it was reported to have a mortality rate of 30% to 90%. What made matters worse was that no specific treatment protocol was available for CCHF.

The state government sprung into action even as there was a surge in the number of suspect cases of the disease. The government also roped in experts from the National Institute of Virology, Pune and National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi.

While CCHF led to one more death, as another doctor became its victim, the silver lining in the dark clouds was that two other patients fully recovered from the disease and were discharged from hospital. Seven other persons, who were found to be carrying the virus, were also treated successfully. At present, there is no confirmed case of CCHF, while 50 serum samples tested negative for the virus on Tuesday.

"There has been no fresh case of CCHF in more than 10 days now, and we believe that the worst is behind us. However, we are fully prepared to face any potential situation," Dr Sudhir Gandhi, additional director, epidemics, health department, told DNA.

He said that the focused approach of targeting places where CCHF cases were detected and the hospitals where the patients had been admitted to, was responsible for checking spread of the virus. In view of the success in checking spread of CCHF, the state health department was invited to a high-level meeting in Delhi last week for sharing its experiences. This was a step towards putting in place a proper treatment mechanism for the disease, said officials.

They warned that the virus has not completely been eliminated and that sporadic cases may come to light in the near future. Meanwhile, state health minister Jaynarayan Vyas has requested the union health ministry to help in establishing a testing facility for CCHF in Gujarat for speedy diagnosis of the virus. He has sought help for acquiring antibiotic and a vaccine for health workers.