Mystery fever leaves Bhiwandi residents jittery

A day after 48-year-old Sampat Jain, a Bhiwandi resident, showed clinical symptoms of the rare and fatal Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), health authorities from the  Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) are gearing up to restrict the spread of the deadly fever.

Dr AB Nandapurkar, residential district health officer, Thane District, said that there will be a district-wide survey of livestock to identify those infected by ticks. Another survey will identify people suffering from fever and showing symptoms of CCHF.

Meanwhile, Jain’s illness has left the residents of Bhiwandi’s Gokulnagar grappling to come to grips with the mystery fever, and clueless about how to go about getting a treatment if they come down with it. 

Strangely enough, the doctor who treated Jain and suggested that he should shift to a Mumbai hospital did not inform the local civic authorities.

Jain stays on the first floor of Nalanda Housing Society, a two-building complex which has around 32 flats.

The news of Jain’s ailment spread like wild fire in the entire Gokulnagar area, which houses nearly 15,000 residents staying in 25 buildings. Most of the residents, who are confused about the symptoms of CCHF, have decided to approach civic hospitals even in the case of a minor fever.

Geeta Sharda, a senior citizen from Nalanda Society, said, “We came to know about Jain’s illness through children who heard about it in their tuition classes. But we still don’t know what to do if anyone suffers from the fever.”

Alpesh Jain, Sampat Jain’s son, said, “My father is under observation and we are waiting for the doctor’s final report.

Though no one in the family is now suffering from fever or any other symptoms, I suffered from fever a few days ago but I am completely fine now.”

The Jains had recently visited Rajasthan but did not halt at any city in Gujarat, where three cases of CCHF have been reported.
 
 “No government or civic hospital has Jain’s health records as he directly went to Jaslok Hospital after receiving treatment from a local physician. Now we have appealed to all the private doctors as well as the citizens to inform local bodies if similar cases are observed by them,” said Dr KR Kharat, chief medical officer, Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation said,

He added that the state government had not informed the municipal corporation about the patient suspected of CCHF.

“However, we have started taking measures to restrict the spread of the fever. If people suspect any cases of CCHF in their neighbourhood, they should inform the municipal doctors,” he said. Precautionary measures are also being taken in Thane city.

Precautions that individuals can take to avoid the deadly fever include, wearing gloves, aprons, goggles and closed footwear, like gumboots while handling live or dead cattle. Disinfecting the dead animals before disposal is another requirement to prevent the spread of the ticks.

The deadly disease has already killed three from Ahmedabad, with the first death occurring in the first week of January 2011. The dead included a 30-year-old woman, the doctor who was treating her, and the nurse who was assisting in her treatment.

What is CCHF?
•    Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), also known as Congo fever, is a tick-borne viral disease. It spreads from animals to humans either by tick bites or through contact with infected animal tissue during or immediately after slaughter. While the spread from animals to humans is rare, the disease is severe in infected human beings, with a mortality rate of 30 percent.
•    Symptoms of CCHF include high fever, vomiting and abdominal pain. As the disease progresses, bruising and severe nosebleeds are also common.
•    The disease first came to notice in the Crimea in 1944, and was given the name Crimean hemorrhagic fever.