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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Congo virus breaks out in Quetta |
| 2004-05-18 |
| Plagues and pestilences... What's next? A swarm of locusts?Somebody turning into a pillar of salt? Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever has killed four people and infected at least six more in Quetta, health officials said on Monday. Tariq Khoso, medical superintendent at Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital in Quetta, said six patients suffering from the fever had been admitted and placed in an isolation ward. âThey arrived at the hospital in the past week from two affected regions,â Mr Khoso said. He said that a week ago, the disease killed Omar Khan, his wife, their 13-year-old son and infant daughter near Qila Saifullah, 150 km northweast of Quetta. âWe have sent medical teams to the affected area to monitor the situation there,â said Balochistan Director General for Health, Pir Khawajakhel. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 CCHF: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever of the Nairovirus group. Although primarily a zoonosis, sporadic cases and outbreaks of CCHF affecting humans do occur. The disease is endemic in many countries in Africa, Europe and Asia, and during 2001, cases or outbreaks have been recorded in Kosovo, Albania, Iran, Pakistan, and South Africa. The mortality rate from CCHF is approximately 30%, with death occurring in the second week of illness. In those patients who recover, improvement generally begins on the ninth or tenth day after the onset of illness. I think that an outbreak in the NWFP provinces was reported here in 2002 or 2003, though I cannot find it by searching Rantburg. |
| Posted by: 11A5S 2004-05-18 7:34:26 PM |
| #4 This is Ebola one of the nastiest diseases known. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2004-05-18 7:25:15 PM |
| #3 Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever can be caused by a tick bite or contact with an infected animal or person. Because of the virus, the infected person suddenly becomes ill with fever, dizziness, neck pain, aching muscles and stiffness, and recurrent headaches within a few days. Soon, after vomiting and diarrhoea have set in, the volume of blood platelets falls, causing the blood to be unable to clot properly. The bleeding then begins: from the gums, from under the skin, in the nose and internal organs. Without treatment, a patient can literally bleed to death. I'd say this would count as a plague in the Signs/Portents Department. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-05-18 1:07:23 PM |
| #2 Export murder and import death. There's a rather fitting reciprocity to this. In light of how Pakistan has sold nuclear technology to anyone with a checkbook, maybe it's time for them to reconsider the wisdom of circulating among so many ill-controlled regions. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-18 1:02:21 PM |
| #1 sounds like Allah's not happy, or a returning Jihadi brought something more than murderous fervor home from Africa? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-05-18 12:52:29 PM |