A 57-year-old man from the Central Anatolian province of Corum died on Monday at an Ankara hospital where he was being treated for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), contracted from a tick bite.

- 07 / 05 / 2008 12:51

A 57-year-old man from the Central Anatolian province of Corum died on Monday at an Ankara hospital where he was being treated for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), contracted from a tick bite.

Osman Simsek, from the Kirecocagi village of Corum, was bitten by a tick as he herded his animals on April 22.

After the incident, he was admitted to the Corum State Hospital, where doctors said they suspected CCHF.

After the initial treatment, Simsek was transferred to the Ankara Education and Research Hospital, where he succumbed to the illness on Monday.

Meanwhile, also on Monday, the Health Ministry reported two more CCHF deaths in Samsun.

The deaths both occurred at the 19 Mayıs University's School of Medicine Hospital despite the doctors' best efforts, the statement noted.

Four people suspected of having contracted Crimean-Congo are at the hospital for observation.

CCHF is a widespread tick-borne viral disease with an estimated 30 percent fatality rate in humans.

Treatment is primarily symptomatic and supportive, as there is no established specific treatment.

On Tuesday, the ministry issued a general health notice that warned individuals who spend time in rural areas to apply insect-repellent solutions or creams to body parts not covered with clothes and to make sure that the repellents are effective and authorized by the Health Ministry.

It also said that in the event of a tick bite, the tick should be removed using tweezers or a similar instrument at the tick's closest possible part to the human body.

Alcohol or iodine should be applied immediately to the affected area. It also warned not to kill the ticks by hand or crush them, but to kill them with a bleach or alcohol solution.

The notice warned against applying ether, cologne, gas oil or similar substances to one's body to remove a tick.

People who have come into contact with a tick should be monitored for the 10 days following contact and apply to the nearest health institution if symptoms of fever, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea present themselves.