A 35-year-old man from Jodhpur, who was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday amid fears that he had contracted Ebola, died on Wednesday morning due to excessive internal bleeding.
A test of the clinical sample of the patient has tested negative for Ebola at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), according to a government . However, the patient appears to have been suffering from Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) — a disease caused by a tick-borne virus (Nairovirus).
CCHF is an infection spread by animals and people who work closely with animals. It has symptoms similar to Ebola like headache, muscle pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, high temperature, convulsions and internal bleeding.
The samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases to ascertain if the man succumbed to CCHF, a release by the government said on Wednesday.
Dr Amit Gupta, spokesperson, AIIMS, denied there was any fear of Ebola. “We were sure from the beginning that it cannot be a case of Ebola. The samples have been sent for further investigation.”
The patient was airlifted and brought to AIIMS from a private hospital in Jodhpur. “It is most likely that the patient contracted infection while being admitted in the ICU in the private hospital as he was not kept in an isolation ward,” said a source in AIIMS.
Meanwhile, a government press release confirmed that viral haemorrhagic fever cases are on the rise in Jodhpur.
The chief medical officer of Jodhpur District has informed the State Health Authorities, Jaipur, Rajasthan regarding reporting of high grade fever in five hospital functionaries working in a private hospital there. While two of them developed Thrombocytopenia (fall in blood platelet count) and showed hemorrhagic manifestations, another person died at the hospital on January 18. The other one was airlifted to AIIMS.
The health authorities of Gujarat and Rajasthan have been alerted for a possible diagnosis of CCHF as the patients at the Jodhpur hospital do not have any travel history to Ebola-affected countries. Guidelines have also been issued on the disease.
Meanwhile, a three-member team of experts from the NCDC is visiting Jodhpur, Rajasthan for outbreak investigation.
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