17.10.2014 17:19
Oman's Health Ministry announced Friday that it had documented one death and six infections from the deadly Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in different parts of the country.
Oman's Health Ministry announced Friday that it had documented one death and six infections from the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus in different parts of the country.
The reported death and infections come in the wake of the recent Eid al-Adha holidays, when Muslims ritually slaughter cattle, the hides of which are sometimes infected with disease-carrying ticks, a ministry official was "ed as saying by the country's official news agency.
The World Health Organization (WHO) puts the fatality rate of CCHF at some 40 percent.
According to the WHO, most reported CCHF infections happen among people involved in the livestock industry.
Leading symptoms of the virus include fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, headache, sore eyes and photophobia (sensitivity to light), the WHO says.
CCHF, for which there is no known treatment or cure, is endemic in Africa, the Balkan region, the Middle East and some Asian countries.
By Ahmed al-Masri
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en - Muskat