Congo virus claimed the lives of four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to a report released by the Health Department.

Among the dead, two belonged to KP and the other two were Afghan nationals, while nine patients have recovered from the tick-borne virus in the province.

During the first seven months of this year, at least 14 cases of Congo virus were reported across the province.

According to the health department, a Congo affected patient has recovered in the last 24 hours and has been discharged from the hospital while another patient infected with congo virus is under treatment at Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar.

The virus is taking a toll at the province after it claimed the lives of at least eight people in Balochistan.

What is Congo Virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is caused by infection with a virus from that is transmitted by ticks. Crimean hemorrhagic fever was the term given to the illness when it was first identified in the Crimea in 1944. The disease’s current name came about as a result of the fact that it was later identified as the illness’s primary cause in the Congo in 1969.

Humans contract the disease by coming into contact with infected ticks or animal blood, infectious blood, or bodily fluids. The hosts of the CCHF virus include a wide range of wild and domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock.

Hospitals have also documented cases of CCHF spreading because of contaminated medical supplies, reused needles, and insufficient sterilization of medical equipment.