Haemorrhagic fever reported

A total of 30 cases of the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) have been reported by 11 laboratories in Mauritania, a news release from the World health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The figures are based on Ministry of Health reports as of 8 March. All the cases except three were reported in the capital, Nouakchott, it said, adding that the other cases were reported in Trarza, Brakna and Hodh Gharbi regions east of the capital, Nouakchott. Laboratory confirmation was made by the WHO Collaborating Centre at the Institut Pasteur in Senegal. A coordination committee comprising the Ministry of Health, WHO and partners from the public health sector has been formed to respond to the outbreak. The Ministry of Health teams are carrying out active case finding and contact tracing and a team of entomologists and virologists from the Institut Pasteur in Dakar, Senegal are travelling to Nouakchott, Mauritania. WHO has sent a complete kit of protective equipment for case management and hygiene to the country. CCHF is a viral haemorrhagic fever of the Nairovirus group. It is endemic in many countries in Africa, Europe and Asia, and during 2001, cases were recorded in Kosovo, Albania, Iran, Pakistan, and South Africa. It was first described in the Crimea in 1944 hence its name and is a severe disease in humans, with a high mortality rate. However human illness occurs infrequently while animal infection is more common. The virus is transmitted by ticks.