Saudi Arabia: Four new human cases of khamra virus in Najran

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZAWYA20090320081457/Four New Cases Of Khamra Virus In Najran

Four new cases of khamra virus in Najran

20 March 2009
NAJRAN - The region of Najran has recorded four new cases of khamra as the Ministry of Health increases its efforts to contain the virus.

The ministry released a statement Wednesday saying that the virus has been present in the region for a number of years and that the source was infected cattle.

The symptoms, according to the ministry, begin with a sudden fever and lead to nervous disorder.

The ministry reassured the public that "there is no cause for concern", saying that the virus had only affected a small number of people and does not spread rapidly, and that the Preventative Medicine department at the ministry was working with the Faculty of Medicine of King Abdulaziz University on field studies to combat the virus.

The ministry statement does not cite the number of cases of the virus other than to say that four new cases have occurred. These cases are being treated at King Khaled Hospital, according to a lecture on the khamra virus given Wednesday at the same hospital by ministerial consultant Tariq Ahmed Madani.

The municipal council of Najran is scheduled to discuss ways of fighting the virus on Monday.

The father of a girl who contracted the virus last month said she was admitted to King Khaled Hospital's intensive care unit where she remained for more than ten days before her condition was regarded as safe. His daughter was finally discharged from hospital last Monday.

Local residents say the issue has been kept quiet by the authorities since last year and that the failure to put into action a preventative program has exacerbated the problem.

? The Saudi Gazette 2009

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Saudi Arabia: Four new human cases of khamra virus in Najran

It is possible that article does referring to Al Khurma virus, a vector-borne pathogen that causes hemorragic fevers.

See a ProMed post about a 2004 outbreak in Saudi Arabia: http://apex.oracle.com/pls/otn/f?p=...,F2400_P1001_USE_ARCHIVE:1001,20040302.0631,Y

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Saudi Arabia: Four new human cases of khamra virus in Najran

Alkhurma virus
is a member of the Flaviviridae virus family (class IV) so has a positive sense single stranded RNA genome and the virus will replicate in the cytoplasm of the infected host cell. It has been shown to be a variant of the Kyasanur Forest disease virus (KFDV) as it shares 89% nucleotide sequence homology. The virus genome is able to mimic mRNA in host cells and so can use some of the host cells enzymes and machinery for its own gene expression, the virus encodes a single polyprotein which is cleaved to form mature proteins. This virus was first isolated in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s and since then there have been 24 reported cases, mainly occurring among butchers, with the case fatality-rate above 30%. It was first discovered in the blood of 6 male butchers, aged 24-39 years, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in November and December 1995. It causes a type of tick-borne hemorrhagic fever with the symptoms including fever, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, vomiting and thrombocytopenia which lead to hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis which can result in death.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference">[1]</sup> Camels and sheep are the natural hosts of this virus but it is not yet known if other mammals are also involved in its life cycle. There appears to be more than one possible route of transmission seen in people who have become infected with this virus. These are a bite by an infected tick, ingestion of unpasteurised camel milk or entry via a skin wound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkhurma_virus