According to officials, a patient who tested positive for the Congo virus was admitted to the Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital and Research Centre late Wednesday evening.

The 32-year-old patient, the first case of Congo fever this year, was initially reported at Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi on Tuesday. He was then transferred to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) earlier on Wednesday.“He is in critical condition. We have moved him to a specialized hospital for infectious diseases where he will receive appropriate care,” explained JPMC’s Deputy Executive Director, Dr. Yahya Tunio.

The patient, a butcher by profession, had contracted Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), also known as Congo fever. This viral hemorrhagic fever is typically transmitted by ticks but can also be spread through contact with infected animal tissues during and immediately after slaughter.Congo fever has a case fatality rate of up to 40 percent, and there is no available vaccine for either humans or animals.