Download Congo Virus

Congo Virus
What is Viral
Hemorrhagic
 Severe multisystem syndrome
 Damage to overall vascular system
 Symptoms often accompanied by hemorrhage
 Rarely life threatening in itself
 Includes conjunctivitis, petechia, echymosis
Importance
 Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a
zoonotic viral disease that is asymptomatic in
infected animals, but a serious threat to humans.
 This disease is a particular threat to farmers and
other agricultural workers,veterinarians, laboratory
workers and hospital personnel.
Cont…
 Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is one of the most
widely distributed viral
 hemorrhagic fevers.
 This disease occurs in much of Africa, the Middle
East and Asia, as well as parts of Europe.
Congo Virus in Pakistan
 Four people, including a surgeon and a medical
technician, have fallen victim to haemorrhagic
fever in Quetta in Sep.2011.
Reports said a patient suffering from Congo virus
was brought to Quetta from Afghanistan for
surgery.
 Unless you live in Zhob, Balochistan you do not
run a direct risk of contracting the Congo virus,
says Professor of Haemotology at the National
Institute of Blood Diseases.
Cont…..
 Congo fever is found mainly among domestic and
wild animals through which it may be transmitted to
humans. The season for the tick-borne virus, which
has symptoms similar to that of dengue hemorrhagic
fever, is from June to September. It becomes a worry
around Eid-ul Azha when thousands of animals are
brought to Sindh’s urban centres ahead of the
religious festival.
Human infections
• Acute infection:
fever, myalgia, malaise; progression to prostration
• Small vessel involvement:
increased permeability, cellular damage
• Multisystem compromise (varies with pathogen)
• Hemorrhage may be small in volume
(indicates small vessel involvement, thrombocytopenia)
• Poor prognosis associated with:
shock, encephalopathy, extensive hemorrhage
Presentation
 The onset of the illness is sudden, with symptoms
such as fever, severe muscular pain, chills, headache
and vomiting. At this stage, among other symptoms,
the face is flushed, the tongue becomes dry and is
often coated with blood.
Cont…
 Initially a slow pulse is recorded but with the
continuous loss of blood in vomits, the blood
pressure may drop drastically, making the heart
weak. These are obvious signs of an imminent shock
and vascular collapse. About 30% of people infected
with the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever are
reported to eventually die.
WHO warns Congo Ebola outbreak could
spread
Clinical Symptoms
 Differ slightly depending on virus
 Initial symptoms
 Marked fever
 Fatigue
 Dizziness
 Muscle aches
 Exhaustion
More severe
 More severe
 Bleeding under skin




Petechiae, echymoses, conjunctivitis
Bleeding in internal organs
Bleeding from orifices
Blood loss rarely cause of death
Transmission
 The virus is transmitted by direct contact with the
blood, body fluids and tissues of infected persons.
 Although the causative virus is often
 transmitted by ticks, animal-to-human and humanto-human transmission also occur.
Cont….
 Transmission of the virus has also occurred by
handling sick or dead infected wild animals
including chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys, forest
antelope and fruit bats.
Diagnosis

Infectious Disease
Serology
 PCR
 IHC
 Viral isolation
 Electron microscopy

Treatment
 Luckily, for people who are infected with Congo, there is
anti-viral drug – the same drug is used for people who are
treated for Hepatitis C.
 Ribavirin,Not approved by FDA
 Effective in some individuals
 Arenaviridae and Bunyaviridae only
 Convalescent-phase plasma
 Argentine HF, Bolivian HF and Ebola
 Strict isolation of affected patients is required
 Report to health authorities
Patients Care
 Healthcare providers treating infected patients need
to be very careful.
 Strict universal precautions are necessary when
caring for human patients.
 These recommendations include
 barrier nursing, isolation and the use of gloves,
gowns, face-shields and goggles with side shields.
Measures to avoid tick bites
 In endemic regions, prevention depends on avoiding
bites from infected ticks and contact with infected
blood or tissues.
 Use of tick repellents, environmental modification
(brush removal, insecticides),
 Avoidance of tick habitat and regular examination of
clothing and skin for ticks.
Cont….
 Clothing should be chosen to prevent tick
attachment; long pants tucked into boots and longsleeved shirts are recommended.
 Acaricides can be
 used on livestock and other domesticated animals to
control ticks, particularly before slaughter or export.
Home taking message
 Protective clothing and gloves should be worn
 whenever skin or mucous membranes could be
exposed to viremic animals, particularly when blood
and tissues are handled.
 Unpasteurized milk should not be drunk. In
 meat, virus is usually inactivated by post-slaughter
acidification. It is also killed by cooking.