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Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...jarat-7491076/
Asian-West African strain of Congo fever in humans found in Gujarat
Of the 34 cases recorded in 2019 in Gujarat — a majority of it from Bhavnagar and Surendranagar, 17 died, pegging the case fatality rate at 50 per cent, which is higher than the WHO defined CFR of upto 40 per cent.
Written by Sohini Ghosh | Ahmedabad |
September 6, 2021 3:07:18 am
The Asian-West African reassortment variant of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in humans was recorded for the first time in the country in a recent study of 34 cases in Gujarat reported in 2019. Human genomic sequences reported from Indian samples so far belonged to Asian lineages, as per the study.
Gujarat had seen a high case fatality rate (CFR) of the virus with half of those infected dying of it in 2019. The study has also detected viral load upto 76 days after the onset of the disease.
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. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) outlines, human-to-human transmission can also occur on close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.
Of the 34 cases recorded in 2019 in Gujarat — a majority of it from Bhavnagar and Surendranagar, 17 died, pegging the case fatality rate at 50 per cent, which is higher than the WHO defined CFR of upto 40 per cent. The study published in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal on August 30 notes that “all the fatalities happened during hospital admission within one to three days”.
The study has also found a correlation of higher viral load and higher mortality among primary cases with either history of known tick bites or through livestock contacts compared to secondary cases — those who contracted the infection on contact with infected humans or animals.
The study notes that while a majority of the CCHF virus sequences from Gujarat clustered with Asia 2 subgroup in the Asian clade (clade is the broader family, which splits into sub-groups with a common ancestral connection), and a “small subset of the sequences had proximity with Matin (Pakistan) and Iran sequences that formed a part of Asia 1 subgroup”, a particular ‘M gene segment’ clustered with the West Africa-1 clade Senegal sequences...
Asian-West African strain of Congo fever in humans found in Gujarat
Of the 34 cases recorded in 2019 in Gujarat — a majority of it from Bhavnagar and Surendranagar, 17 died, pegging the case fatality rate at 50 per cent, which is higher than the WHO defined CFR of upto 40 per cent.
Written by Sohini Ghosh | Ahmedabad |
September 6, 2021 3:07:18 am
The Asian-West African reassortment variant of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in humans was recorded for the first time in the country in a recent study of 34 cases in Gujarat reported in 2019. Human genomic sequences reported from Indian samples so far belonged to Asian lineages, as per the study.
Gujarat had seen a high case fatality rate (CFR) of the virus with half of those infected dying of it in 2019. The study has also detected viral load upto 76 days after the onset of the disease.
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. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) outlines, human-to-human transmission can also occur on close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.
Of the 34 cases recorded in 2019 in Gujarat — a majority of it from Bhavnagar and Surendranagar, 17 died, pegging the case fatality rate at 50 per cent, which is higher than the WHO defined CFR of upto 40 per cent. The study published in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal on August 30 notes that “all the fatalities happened during hospital admission within one to three days”.
The study has also found a correlation of higher viral load and higher mortality among primary cases with either history of known tick bites or through livestock contacts compared to secondary cases — those who contracted the infection on contact with infected humans or animals.
The study notes that while a majority of the CCHF virus sequences from Gujarat clustered with Asia 2 subgroup in the Asian clade (clade is the broader family, which splits into sub-groups with a common ancestral connection), and a “small subset of the sequences had proximity with Matin (Pakistan) and Iran sequences that formed a part of Asia 1 subgroup”, a particular ‘M gene segment’ clustered with the West Africa-1 clade Senegal sequences...