Namibia: Congo Fever Outbreak Declared

[Fred Gunner]

I’ll be near there in August. One of my friends there had a neighbor die of this disease and suppose he got it from a tick on his horses. I don’t know how widespread it is but wow it’s a bad bug!
Philip

THE primary healthcare supervisor of the Keetmanshoop district has called for assistance for people placed under quarantine on suspicion they may have been exposed to Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

Speaking at a briefing on Friday about the Congo fever outbreak, Rauna Namukwambi said of the 36 people placed under quarantine, some were the breadwinners of their families.

Symptoms of Congo fever include fever, myalgia (muscle ache), dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, headache, sore eyes and sensitivity to light. There may be nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and a sore throat early on, followed by sharp mood swings and confusion.

 

[Fred Gunner]

FOUR people are being treated for symptoms of Congo fever at the Keetmanshoop State Hospital.
This was revealed by the chief medical officer at the hospital, Dr Refanus Kooper, during a stakeholders' meeting on the outbreak of the tick-borne disease at Keetmanshoop.

He said blood samples had been drawn from the affected persons and sent to South Africa for testing.

On Tuesday morning, 37-year-old Keetmanshoop resident Hendrik Hartebees died of Congo fever at the Windhoek Central Hospital a few days after being confirmed positive for the disease.

Kooper also revealed that 39 people who came into contact with Hartebees have been quarantined.

"Eight of them, including a doctor and health officials are high risk," he added.

 

[Philip Glass]

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever:
Key facts
The Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks.
CCHF outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 40%.
The virus is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.
CCHF is endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, in countries south of the 50th parallel north.
There is no vaccine available for either people or animals.
The hosts of the CCHF virus include a wide range of wild and domestic animals
Reducing the risk of tick-to-human transmission:
wear protective clothing (long sleeves, long trousers);
wear light coloured clothing to allow easy detection of ticks on the clothes;
use approved acaricides (chemicals intended to kill ticks) on clothing;
use approved repellent on the skin and clothing;
regularly examine clothing and skin for ticks; if found, remove them safely;
seek to eliminate or control tick infestations on animals or in stables and barns; and
avoid areas where ticks are abundant and seasons when they are most active.
Reducing the risk of animal-to-human transmission:
wear gloves and other protective clothing while handling animals or their tissues in endemic areas, notably during slaughtering, butchering and culling procedures in slaughterhouses or at home;

So what is the treatment? Is there much they can do for a person who gets it?

 

[Fred Gunner]

So what is the treatment? Is there much they can do for a person who gets it?

"Health officials, she said, gave the family a thermometer to measure their body temperature every day?" So that's what they did for the family "Take one thermometer...call us to collect the bodies??

Treatment for CCHF is primarily supportive. Care should include careful attention to fluid balance and correction of electrolyte abnormalities, oxygenation and hemodynamic support, and appropriate treatment of secondary infections. The virus is sensitive in vitro to the antiviral drug ribavirin. It has been used in the treatment of CCHF patients reportedly with some benefit...."primarily supportive" "there there now everything will be fine now don't you worry about the fact that In documented outbreaks of CCHF, fatality rates in hospitalized patients have ranged to as high as 50%".

Recovery
The long-term effects of CCHF infection have not been studied well enough in survivors to determine whether or not specific complications exist. However, recovery is slow.

 

[Vanguard2279]

And I leave for Namibia tomorrow night. I resprayed my clothes and boots with permethrin and picked up some tick-repellent wipes. this is another reason that I'm thankful for AfricaHunting as I never would have heard of this without it.

 

[Fred Gunner]

There is often an eschar at the site of the tick bite. This is a black mark that looks like a small ulcer (2-5mm in diameter) with a black centre or scab.

 

[Fred Gunner]

Here's some more info and advice from another African Hunting web site...(That shall forever be nameless)
Summary For African Travellers and Hunters:
Hunters walking through the African bush are almost always going to pick up some ticks. These ticks are often noticed once they have attached to your body. You must get into the habit of examining yourself carefully when in the shower every day, especially in your skin creases and under hair. Ticks can get into and bite in the most unlikely places on your person.

If you have a mild infection and symptoms, you can just let it run its course without any antibiotic treatment.
If the infection is more severe and causes you discomfort, it can be easily treated with antibiotics such as doxycycline or tetracycline (this contradicts the CDC recommended treatment). If you are on a long hunt, it is a good idea to bring a course of these antibiotics with you, as ATF could occur during the hunt as well as when you are home.

You'll never be able to 100% protect yourself agains ticks and African tick bite fever but some simple, common sense measures will reduce the risk. Wearing insect repellents on your skin, permethrin impregnated clothing, long trousers tucked into your boots with gaiters over the top and long sleeve shirts, will all help.

There is no vaccine against tick bite fever, and taking prophylactic antibiotics has never been shown to be effective or necessary.