Congo Virus Claims Second Life in Karachi in 2025
Karachi, June 19, 2025 – A 26-year-old man from Karachi’s Ibrahim Hyderi area succumbed to Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), marking the second fatality from the tick-borne virus in Sindh this year, health authorities confirmed on Thursday.
The patient, identified as Zubair, was initially admitted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) with suspected CCHF. Due to a lack of available beds, he was transferred to the Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital & Research Centre (SIDH), where he passed away on June 19. This follows the death of a 42-year-old man from Malir on June 17, who tested positive for CCHF a day earlier. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Karak district, two additional CCHF cases were reported, with both patients stable and under treatment in Peshawar.
CCHF, caused by a virus transmitted through tick bites or contact with infected animal blood or tissues, has a fatality rate of 10-40%, according to the World Health Organization. Symptoms include sudden fever, headaches, rashes, joint pain, stomach pain, and vomiting, with severe cases leading to hemorrhages. No vaccine is currently available, making preventive measures critical, especially during animal slaughter periods like Eid al-Adha.
The Sindh Health Department has urged residents to wear gloves and avoid direct contact with animal blood during slaughtering. Authorities are also conducting contact tracing, with Zubair’s family reported stable and showing no symptoms. Experts emphasize the need for enhanced surveillance and livestock quarantine to curb the virus, which remains endemic in Pakistan due to its climate and widespread animal husbandry.
