DOH sees 'little to no risk' of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus of entering PH

The Department of Health (DOH) said that there is "little to no risk" that the virus that causes an illness called Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) can enter the country at this point in time.
“The DOH sees little to no risk of the virus entering Philippine borders,” the state health agency said in a statement on Thursday, June 2.
Cases of CCHF have been recorded in Iraq recently. The DOH said that this disease is “said to be endemic to Africa, Balkan states, the Middle East, and some northern Asian countries.”
“The CCHF virus is commonly transmitted via tick bites or through contact of infected animal blood, tissue, and fluids,” the DOH said.
“These can be most prevalent in people who work in the livestock, agriculture, veterinarian, and slaughter industry,” it added.
Common symptoms of CCHF include fever, muscle ache, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, headache, sore eyes, photophobia (sensitivity to light), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and sore throat among others.
“Treatment of symptoms with general supportive care has been shown to be the main approach to manage such cases,” the DOH said.
“In addition, the antiviral drug ‘ribavirin’ has been used to treat the virus,” it added.