JPMC confirms two more Congo fever patients

Officials at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Sunday confirmed two more Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever patients being treated at the hospital, saying that they are treating four confirmed and one suspected patient at the moment.

JPMC Executive Director Dr Seemin Jamali told The News that Amina Nasir, 22, is the latest patient to be tested positive for Congo fever. She was brought to them from New Karachi, but she hails from Azad Kashmir capital Muzaffarabad, from where she had arrived in the city on August 23.

A 34-year-old man had died due to Congo fever at a private hospital in Karachi on Saturday, said Sindh Health Department officials, adding that so far this year nine patients — six from Karachi and three from Balochistan and other parts of the country — have died at different hospitals in the city.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a tick-borne viral disease that is mainly contracted by the people who deal with cattle and livestock. Experts say it is highly contagious and half of the patients die due to the largely lethal disease despite receiving symptomatic and anti-viral treatment.

Dr Seemin said that on Saturday 22-year-old Pervez Punhal from Safoora Goth also tested positive for Congo fever, adding that he is being kept in an isolation ward at the hospital.

“At the moment we have four confirmed patients: two from Quetta, Balochistan, and two from Karachi,” said Dr Seemin, adding that they have another man who is suspected to have contracted the viral disease, but it could only be confirmed after lab results.

Health department officials said there are some more suspected patients being treated at private hospitals in the city whose lab results are yet to be received, adding that the health department would issue an update on the cases on Monday (today).

The 34-year-old man who had died due to Congo fever at the Aga Khan University Hospital on Saturday was identified as Ahmed Jahanzeb, a resident of Orangi Town.

On Friday JPMC officials had confirmed a second Congo fever patient. “Sixteen-year-old Abdus Saboor is from Quetta and was brought to the JPMC with high-grade fever, headache, bruises on the body and bleeding from the nose and mouth. Lab reports confirmed that he was infected with the Congo virus,” said Dr Seemin.