KAMPALA, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's ministry of health on Wednesday confirmed a case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in the western district of Kabarole.

Emmanuel Ainebyoona, senior public relation officer for the ministry of health, told Xinhua by telephone that laboratory results from samples taken from a female patient under isolation at Fort Portal regional referral hospital tested positive of the fever.

"There is a confirmed case of CCHF in Kabarole, but there are measures put in place to ensure that the disease doesn't spread," Ainebyoona said.

He said a national rapid response team from the ministry of health and that of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries has been dispatched to Kabarole to handle and contain the outbreak.

The CCHF is a tick-borne illness transmitted to humans through tick bites. It can also be transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions and the organs of infected people.

According to the World Health Organization, a CCHF outbreak constitutes a threat to public health.

The global health body says the fever, endemic in Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East, is associated with a high case fatality ratio of 10-40 percent.