AP ill-equipped to tackle cases

Hyderabad, Feb. 1: The fatal illness known as Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) claimed another life in Ahmedabad on Tuesday taking the overall toll to four in Gujarat. The deceased has been identified as Shabbir Ali Umatiya, an intern doctor. In a unique development, three among the four who succumbed were medical practitioners two doctors and the nurse who treated a patient afflicted by the illness. However, even a fortnight after the outbreak of CCHF in Gujarat, the AP health department seems to be uninformed about any guidelines for the treatment of the disease. Local doctors are assuring people that theres no need to panic since the disease is not as quick-spreading as swine flu. But considering the regular influx of people from Ahmedabad to Hyderabad, it may just be a matter of days before the killer disease strikes the city. CCHF is a viral disease characterised by high fever, severe abdominal pain, head ache, body pain and nausea. Absolute isolation of the patient is required.Earlier, a medical officer from the Fever Hospital, Nallakunta, had said, We dont have any isolation ward to deal with CCHF. We havent got any guidelines from the government about the ailment. Only after we get the guidelines, can we make the provisions to deal with the disease or quarantine such patients.

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