Since the dawn of humanity, man has always toiled to combat the horror of diseases, with a view to maintaining human society physically healthy and economically vibrant. In the present age, the outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers in different parts of the globe have trammeled the humanity with maledictions of pessimism despite using huge resources on its control. Sprouted by Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV), this disease is considered euphemism for holocaust and inferno in the affected area of east and West Africa.
Physician Ghislaine courtois spearheaded in his research to find out its virus in Belgian Congo in 1956. Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) is genetically the most diverse of Arboviruses. So far, seven genotypes of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) have been ferreted out throughout the world inter-alia Africa 1 (Senegal), Africa 2 (Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa), Africa 3 (Southern and Western Africa), Europe 1 (Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Russia and Turkey), Europe 2 (Greece), Asia 1 (The Middle East, Iran and Pakistan) and Asia 2 (China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan).
The ticks of genus Hyalomma are the principal vectors of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV). They are transmitted to the human body by ticks and domestic animals. Human to human transmission occurs from close contact with blood, secretions, organs and bodily fluids of infected people. Fever, myalgia, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neck pain and stiffness are the initial symptoms of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) which are followed by mood instability, mental confusion, epistaxis, petechia, ecchymoses, rainbow urine and detectable hepatomegaly. Laboratory tests for timely detection of infection include Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Antigen Detection, Serum neutralization, RT-PCR assay and Virus isolation by cell culture.
The purgatory scenes produced by the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) are immanent throughout the globe. In Pakistan, many cases of this viral fever occurred i.e. 16 in Karachi, 3 in Zhob, 2 Quetta and 8 in Peshawar in 2014. Some cases were also registered in Afghanistan in 2015. Currently there is no licensed vaccine to beat the danger in the affected regions, despite the fact the sufficient breakthrough has been made by Refik Saydam Health Institute (Turkey) by developing treatment serum which is 90% effective for the patients. Hence, uniform efforts are required by the comity of the world to invent and certify a standard preventive vaccine in this regard.
Elimination of this virus demands both long term and short term plans. An equitable system of health management like that of isolation wards and separate intensive care units for vector borne diseases is necessitated in the tertiary level hospitals. Minimizing the risk and scale of infection, special stock of Ribavirin is to be maintained in the primary heath care centers besides procuring the medicines to the armed forces deployed in the endemic regions.
Achieving the target of better comprehension, documentation cells are needed to be established in health care centers. Various research institutes and pharmaceutical companies shall sponsor and patronize quicker invention of safe vaccine. Research is to be initiated to develop a therapeutic tool which can interfere with CCHFV Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) and its binding partner.
Interference with the binding of the envelope glycoproteins of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV) to the Nucleolin receptor would be a therapeutic breakthrough. Practical invention or discovery of Nucleolin blocker would also minimize the invasion of this virus inside the body cells.
Evidently, a vibrant institutional arrangement for producing the luminaries of Vector Borne Diseases is to be evolved for catapulting the health management system to the new heights. In order to remove the fears of constant damnation, the ineffable provisos of better health care shall be implemented in full swing so that tomorrow of today is free of sanguine details. Tracking down the future imminent agonies, it is also added that the government and people of Pakistan urgently need to develop a robust system with steady nerves to beat the danger of imbalance between population and resources, environmental pollution with special focus on safeguarding drinking water table and taking measures for equitable drainage system. Apparently intractable, it is claimed that several easy mechanisms, would ensure the needful infrastructure on low cost basis.