CHAKWAL: A woman has been diagnosed with Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic fever, commonly referred to as Congo fever, in Chakwal, the first case to be reportedin the district this year.

A resident of the Matan Kalan Village, 32-year-old Hafeez Akhtar, who is a mother of five, was tested positive for Congo fever by the National Institute of Health, District Health Officer Mukhtar Ahmed told Dawnon Tuesday. He said the patient was diagnosed on time and that she is being treated at the Holy Family Hospital (HFH).

Ms Akhtar had a fever a few days ago and was taken to the basic health unit in the neighbouring Sar Kalan Village, where she was treated for four days, but her condition kept deteriorating and she was taken to the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital on July 19 when she starte d bleeding from her nose. Doctors at DHQ Hospital referred her to HFH from where her blood samples were sent to NIH to be tested for Congo fever.

The doctors and paramedic staff who are treating the patient are also at risk of contracting the disease, which is transmited person to person as well.

Congo fever cases have been reported from Chakwal in the past as well. A studentof the 9th grade, 15-year-old Mohammad Eman from the Khara Village died from the disease July 30 last year and another patient from Choa Saldan Shah also tested positive for the disease the same month.

Eight cases have been reported from the area since 2013 of which two have died. So far this year,15 cases have been reported from across the country and 33 people died of Congo fever last year, when 109 cases were reported.

`We have established a health camp in Matan Kalan Village and the village has also been surveyed. There are no other suspected cases in the village,` DHO Ahmed said.

`The illness spreads through ticks in animals and Congo fever has a 40pc mortality rate, which is very alarming,` the DHO said, adding that an awareness cam-paign has also been launched in the village.

`Ms Akhtar had 26 cattle in the house, he added.

A doctor Dawn talked to said farmers tend to be careless when touching animals and even remove ticks from animals by hand.

Additional Director Livestock Dr Mohammad Mohsin Raza Malik told Dawn the cattle in Matan Kalan Village were sprayed and vaccinated on July 13, including the ones in Ms Akhtar`s house.

`We have launched a campaign for spraying and vaccinating animals in the district for the eradication of ticks since July 1 and so far, 80pc of the cattle in the district have been sprayed and vaccinated.

The rest will also be covered in a few days, he said.