A patient suffering from Congo virus has passed away at the isolation ward of a hospital in Quetta.

This brings the total number of deaths due to Congo virus in the city to eight this year.

According to hospital sources, the deceased was a 23-year-old male from Kechlak.

This year, a total of 30 cases of Congo virus have been reported in Quetta.

The Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), as it is also know, is a virus that causes severe viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks. Such outbreaks have a case fatality rate of up to 40%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur resulting from close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons.

There is no vaccine available for either people or animals.