Dr Ashfaq Qureshi, a senior medical officer, on Friday advised the citizens to take preventive measures for protection against Congo virus.
Talking to this agency, he said healthcare workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Congo virus cases, or handling specimens from them, should implement standard infection control precautions.
Dr Qureshi said that preventive measures include basic hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices and safe burial practices.
He said that reducing the risk of tick-to-human transmission people should wear protective clothing like long sleeves or long trousers and wear light coloured clothing to allow easy detection of ticks on the clothes.
He said people should use approved 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 and avoid areas where ticks are abundant and seasons when they are most active.
Dr Qureshi said in order to reduce the risk of animal-to-human transmission people should 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.
He said in order to reduce the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community, people should avoid close physical contact with infected people, wear gloves and protective equipment when taking care of ill people and wash hands regularly after caring for or visiting ill people.
Dr Qureshi informed that the virus is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. He added that human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons. He said a majority of cases had occurred in people involved in the livestock industry, such as agricultural workers, slaughterhouse workers and veterinarians.
Hospital-acquired infections can also occur due to improper sterilisation of medical equipment, re-use of needles and contamination of medical supplies, he added.
He said that this disease is mostly found in the animals of Pashtun areas of Baluchistan and Sindh’s border areas with Punjab and Baluchistan, he said and advised that prevention is the way to avoid getting the disease.
