The threat of being infected by a potentially deadly strain of tick-borne virus is relatively close to your home and should be treated with utmost care and concern

Pets are often treated like members of the family and are in constant proximity of their doting owners. Being this affectionate and loving with pets could just come at a terrible price to unwitting pet lovers, due to a virus carried and transmitted by parasitic ticks that your pet is a reluctant host to.

Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) has already claimed three human lives near Ahmedabad and fears are justified since the mortality rate of those infected is approximately 30%, with death occurring in the second week of illness.


Medical experts have urged people owning pets or living in areas that house cattle sheds or dairy farms to take anti-tick precautionary measures

People owning pets or living in areas that house cattle sheds or dairy farms are being urged by medical experts to take extra precautions to ensure that tragedy does not befall them or the pets they love.

Anti-tick programmes and sprays guaranteed to kill ticks can arrest the spread of the dreaded fever at probable sources. Pet owners are advised to take anti-tick precautionary measures; however, the only consolation is that not all tick populations are carriers of the virus causing CCHF.

Following the three confirmed CCHF deaths in Ahmedabad district, state and civic health authorities kick-started a marathon meeting to gauge the situation in Mumbai. The Directorate of Health Services (DHS), an arm of public health department of the health ministry, is now preparing a health advisory for both public and private health professionals in the state.

The health advisory is eagerly awaited, as this is the first time CCHF cases have been diagnosed in the country and medical personnel are on unfamiliar turf. "The advisory will be of utmost importance in aiding in detection and treatment of possible cases in the city.

CCHF outbreaks have been treated in European and African countries and therefore we have learnt from them what symptoms to look for and what drugs to use," said Dr Pratit Samdani, attached to Breach Candy Hospital who has advised medicos treating the first CCHF cases in the country.

"We are monitoring the situation and currently there are no suspected cases in the state including Mumbai. Considering the short incubation period and the severity of CCHF, we are leaving no stone unturned and will issue a health advisory at the earliest.

We have also requested experts at veterinary institutes to issue their set of guidelines," said Dr D S Dakhure, Director of DHS. Dakhure added that the National Institute of Virology (NIV) is the only institute in Maharashtra capable of testing samples for CCHF.

Explaining the nature of transmission, veterinarian doctor, A M Paturkar, said, "The virus causing CCHF is found in ticks, which do not get affected by the virus.

Infected ticks transmit the virus to humans through a bite and an infected person can spread the virus to others through contact as the virus in present in bodily fluids and can be transmitted via the nasal passage."

While Dr Samdani said that the population should be cautious since the virus has been detected fairly close to the city, Haffkine Director, Dr Abhay Chaudhary said, "We have observed that the CCHF is always restricted to tick populations in particular geographical area and the chances of the virus spreading to Mumbai are slim.

A similar tick-borne virus active in the 1960s and 70s in Karnataka known as 'Kyansur Forest Disease' restricted itself to infecting the natives of that forest area only."

Tough threat

The virus does not die with the host tick in the event of fumigation of infested areas, but lives on in the eggs of the host and on hatching will continue in the hatchlings.

Outbreaks
During the summers of 1944 and 1945 over 200 cases of an acute, hemorrhagic, illness occurred in Soviet troops rescuing the harvest following the ethnic cleansing of the Crimean Tatars.
July 28, 2005: 41 cases of CCHF were reported in Turkey's Yozgat Province, with one death.
May 27, 2010: 70 cases of CCHF in Kosovo, 4 deaths
September, 2010: An outbreak was reported in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Prevention and control
- Avoid tick-infested areas
- Examine clothing and skin for ticks and use repellents
- Avoid contact with livestock in endemic areas
- Use barrier-nursing techniques for suspected or confirmed CCHF cases
- Safety while handling specimens of blood or tissues taken for diagnostics
- Use proper disposal or decontamination procedures for needles and body wastes