Epidemic Hazard - Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Kills a Doctor - India

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service
Budapest, Hungary

2012-06-22 18:05:03 - Epidemic Hazard - India

EDIS CODE: EH-20120622-35522-IND
Date & Time: 2012-06-22 18:05:03 [UTC]
Area: India, State of Gujarat, , Ahmedabad



Description:

A local hospital is on alert as a resident doctor died of the dreaded Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (Congo fever) here today. Dr Smiral Patel of V S Hospital, who contracted the virus while treating a patient with unknown hemorrhagic viral fever, today died at a private hospital. "We started screening all ward boys, nursing staff and resident doctors as soon as we received the positive report of the blood sample of Dr Patel from the National Institute of Virology, Pune," said Dr Pankaj Patel, the superintendent of the Municipal Corporation-run V S Hospital. On Wednesday, while Dr Smiral Patel was treating a patient, a splash of patient`s blood landed on his face. Next day he complained of high-grade fever, severe headache, and metallic taste in his mouth. He was immediately rushed here. But today he passed away," said Dr Atul Patel, senior consultant at Sterling Hospital, where Dr Smiral was undergoing treatment. Authorities at the V S Hospital have started checking up everybody
who was in the team with Dr Smiral, and given preventive medicines to his colleagues, who had taken him to the private hospital and stayed with him. Last year, a woman, Amina Momin of Sanand town near Ahmedabad, had died of Congo Fever.