India: Suspected Ebola patient tests negative, instead suffered from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

A man who died from excessive bleeding Wednesday has tested negative for Ebola virus, according to the India Ministry of Health.

The 35-year-old man was referred to AIIMS in Delhi by a private hospital in Jodhpur in Rajasthan on Tuesday suffering from thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) and bleeding.

Laboratory analysis of his blood was carried out by the NIV ( National Institute of Virology) Pune.

Health officials at AIIMS suspect the late patient may have been suffering from Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever.

According to the WHO, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widespread disease caused by a tick-borne virus-Nairovirus) of the Bunyaviridae family. The CCHF virus causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, with a case fatality rate of 10–40%.

CCHF is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asian countries south of the 50th parallel north – the geographical limit of the principal tick vector. The hosts of the CCHF virus include a wide range of wild and domestic animals such as cattle, sheep and goats.

Animals become infected by the bite of infected ticks and the virus remains in their bloodstream for about one week after infection, allowing the tick-animal-tick cycle to continue when another tick bites. Although a number of tick genera are capable of becoming infected with CCHF virus, ticks of the genus Hyalomma are the principal vector.

The CCHF virus is transmitted to people either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal blood or tissues during and immediately after slaughter. The majority of cases have occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians. Human-to-human transmission is possible.

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