In a recent study of 34 cases in Gujarat, the Asian-West African variant of Congo hemorrhagic fever was recorded for the first time in the country in 2019. As per the study, human genomic sequences reported from Indian samples belonged to Asian lineages.
Out of the 34 cases recorded in 2019 in Gujarat, most of them are from Bhavnagar and Surendranagar. The case fatality rate is 50 percent which is higher than the WHO-defined CFR up to 40 percent.
The study detected viral load up to 76 days after the onset of the disease. Gujarat had seen a high case fatality rate of the virus with half of those infected dying of it in 2019.
As per WHO outlines, human-to-human transmission can occur in close contact with the blood, secretion, or other bodily fluids of infected people. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) outlines, human-to-human transmission can also occur in close contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected persons. CCHF is caused by a tick-borne virus and is transmitted to humans either through tick bites or contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter.
Of the 34 cases recorded in 2019 in Gujarat — the study revealed that all fatalities happened during hospital admission within one to three days.
There was no notification of an outbreak of the disease in 2021, as per a portal of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme. In 2020, till October, Gujarat reported four cases of CCHF and one death. of which three were from Botad and one from Kutch.
