The woman was admitted to a hospital on August 20 for suspected Congo fever symptoms. (Representational)
A 75-year-old woman from Surendranagar district in Gujarat died due to Congo fever which spreads through ticks in humans, the state government said on Monday.
The victim Sukhiben Meniya, who was admitted to the government-run SVP hospital in Ahmedabad on August 20 for suspected Congo fever symptoms, died on Sunday night, an official release said.
She was a resident of Zamdi-Borna village.
Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) has confirmed that the woman was infected by Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus, commonly known as Congo fever, it stated.
Meanwhile, Gujarat Health Commissioner Jayanti Ravi said cattle-rearers are more susceptible to the CCHF virus infection.
Special preventive measures are being taken by the health and veterinarian teams in Zamdi-Borna village in view of the woman's death.
"We have created an OPD in the village and kept 21 persons, who were in close contact with Meniya, under surveillance. Since the virus spreads into humans through ticks, our teams have sprayed anti-tick chemical in the village and also collected tick samples for examination," the release quoted Jayanti Ravi as saying.