Namibia reports second Congo fever case

Namibia on Tuesday confirmed a second case of Congo fever in the country this year, days after a 26-year-old farm worker died with the disease at a hospital 200 km from the capital Windhoek.

The second confirmed case involves a man from the south of the country, and he is now receiving treatment in the Gobabis District Hospital, where the first Congo-fever patient died on Feb. 22, local media cited Health Minister Bernard Haufiku as saying.

Five hospital staff members who had attended the first Congo-fever patient are currently under observation. Also under observation are four of the man's workmates, Haufiku said.

Their blood samples were already sent to South Africa for test, the minister said, adding that a team of epidemiology experts have been sent to the farm where the 26-year-old was working.

The disease, formally known as the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, has a fatality rate of up to 40 percent, according to World Health Organization.

The virus causing the disease is primarily transmitted to people from ticks and livestock animals. Human-to-human transmission can occur 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.

Namibia has reported sporadic Congo fever cases in the past, respectively in 1986, 1998 and 2001. Endi