Seven people died in Kéra, in the Mopti region, from a hemorrhagic fever called “Crimea-Congo”, a viral disease transmitted by infected ticks, but also by contact with blood
Seven people died in an epidemic of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, also known as Congo fever, in a village in central Mali, said an official.
Yacouba Maiga, spokesman for the central region of Mopti, said that a shepherd “had contracted an ox disease” in the village of Samoa in late January.
He was treated, but the disease resurfaced on February 1, infecting 14 people and killing five, the official said.
Two other patients died while being transported to the town of Sévaré in central Mali.
“It is different from the coronavirus,” said Maiga, referring to the deadly virus currently sweeping China.
Congo fever is a viral disease transmitted by ticks (blood-sucking mite which attaches by the head in the skin of animals (dog, cat) and sometimes humans and which can transmit diseases) which causes serious bleeding, according to the World Health Organization.
People are often infected after coming into contact with the blood of infected animals, often after slaughtering cattle.
However, humans in very close contact can also transmit the disease.
“It is a rare pathology in Mali. There were cases about ten years ago, “said Minister of Health Michel Sidibé.
Health officials were preparing for an “fact-finding mission to the region with the support of the security forces,” according to a report from the Ministry of Health. However, an official in Mopti said the investigation team had not yet left on Wednesday.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CHF)
According to the WHO, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CHF) is a common disease caused by a virus (Nairovirus) from the Bunyaviridae family, transmitted by ticks. It causes outbreaks of severe viral hemorrhagic fever, with a fatality rate of 10 to 40%. It is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, in countries below the 50th degree of north latitude , geographical limit of the main vector species, a tick. The virus is mainly transmitted to humans from ticks and farm animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur as a result of direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or body fluids of infected people.
There is no vaccine, neither for humans nor for animals.
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