'No need to panic over Congo virus in Gujarat'

January 20, 2011 02:39 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 03:33 am IST - Pune

A community health worker (right), collects blood samples of a villager at Kolat near Ahmedabad. The Congo virus, which surfaced in Ahmedabad killed three persons.

A community health worker (right), collects blood samples of a villager at Kolat near Ahmedabad. The Congo virus, which surfaced in Ahmedabad killed three persons.

With three people dying of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus in Gujarat, the National Institute of Virology on Thursday said there was no need to panic as the transmission of the high risk category virus was slow and it could be arrested with isolation of patients.

The virus at present appears to be confined to Gujarat from where NIV had received samples and the state government had started screening of all suspected cases, Dr. A.C.Mishra, Director, NIV, said.

Although the virus belongs to the high risk category, there was no need to panic as its transmission is slow and can be arrested with isolation of patients in hospital, he said.

“It is important that infections are prevented from spreading by isolating patients in hospitals and proper precautions are taken,” Dr. Mishra said.

The Congo virus, which surfaced in Ahmedabad killed three persons including a doctor and nurse who treated the first victim -- a woman from Kolat village in Sanand taluka of the district.

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