A case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in a hospital on the outskirts of the capital Dakar has been confirmed by the Senegalese Ministry of Health, it said in a statement.

According to the statement, the case was detected on April 21 at the Dalal Jam Hospital in Guediaway, according to the health ministry’s statement released late last night.

An emergency response task force was activated to oversee the management of the case.

According to the World Health Organization, CCHF is a serious viral disease, which is caused by the virus of the same name and is mainly transmitted through tick bites.

The virus causes severe disease in humans with a mortality rate of 10% to 40% and a risk of nosocomial transmission. It also causes epidemics. It is a zoonotic disease that infects many wild and domestic animals and humans.

Endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and some Asian countries, it has symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, dizziness and vomiting and can lead to multiple organ failure and internal bleeding. It was first detected in the Crimea in 1944.

According to the African Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, the largest recent outbreak of the disease was in Mauritania in 2003 with 35 cases and six deaths.

South Africa recorded 17 cases and five deaths in 2011.