Thread by @weatherindia

Alert for Deadly #CongoFever Issued in Mumbai Metropolitan Region's #Palghar District

weather.com/en-IN/india/he…

(📸: J Jackson/BCCL Coimbatore)

Amid #covid19, authorities in #Palghar, a district in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, have issued an alert for the deadly Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), or Congo fever, which is believed to spread from animals to humans, top officials said on Tuesday.

#CongoFever

The collectorate has directed all meat and poultry sellers and consumers to remain on alert and take precautions as the Congo fever has a high mortality rate between 10-40 percent, even as no vaccine is available for treatment.

#CongoFever

District Civil Surgeon Kanchan Vanare said that though there were no Congo fever cases yet in Palghar, precautions have been listed after infections of this disease were found in neighbouring Gujarat, which borders Talasari taluka in the district.

#CongoFever

"Though much is not known about the disease, it is believed to spread through Hyalomma tick, a parasite which thrives on the blood or flesh of infected animals, fowls, or other birds...."

#CongoFever

....Anybody consuming infected meat may experience symptoms of high fever, head and body aches, nose-bleeding, stomach pains, red eyes etc," Vanare explained.

#CongoFever

Animal Husbandry Department Deputy Commissioner Dr PD Kamble cautioned in a circular that since CCHF cases were found in some districts of south Gujarat bordering Maharashtra, it was likely to spread to this state.

#CongoFever

"If it is not diagnosed and treated in time, nearly one-third of the patients succumb. As per the World Health Organisation, it has a fatality rate of 10-40 percent, with no vaccines available for either humans or animals," read the circular.

#CongoFever