Two patients under treatment at HFH

RMC, allied hospitals ready to deal with CCHF cases

Rawalpindi

Administrations of Rawalpindi Medical College (RMC) and allied hospitals in town claimed to have made all necessary arrangements to deal with cases of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) ahead of Eidul Azha.

It is important that on Thursday; as many as two patients of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever including one confirmed case of the infection were undergoing treatment here at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) in town.

62-year old male patient Ulfat Muhammad who is a resident of Choa Saidan Shah in Chakwal district was confirmed positive for CCHF by National Institute of Health on July 29. He has been undergoing treatment since July 23 at the HFH in isolation.

The other patient, still a suspect, 50-year old Saeed reached HFH from District Attock, some 86 kilometres from Rawalpindi on August 1 with signs and symptoms of CCHF. The hospital administration sent his blood sample to the NIH for confirmatory test on Tuesday, August 2 however, final report in his case is yet to be received by the hospital.

‘The News’ has learnt that Saeed was in Saudi Arabia last month and reached Attock for attending a wedding ceremony. During his stay in Attock, he developed signs and symptoms of CCHF and was taken to the HFH for treatment.

Both the confirmed and suspected patient of CCHF have been undergoing treatment in isolation at the hospital and their condition is improving, said a top official at HFH while talking to ‘The News’ on Thursday pleading anonymity.

He said after death of a confirmed patient of CCHF, a female nursing student at Victoria Hospital in Bahawalpur some two weeks back, RMC put allied hospitals on high alert on the subject of dealing with CCHF cases

It is important that Dr. Sagheer Ahmed, a general surgeon at Victoria Hospital Bahawalpur contracted the infection while managing the female nursing student and died of it at Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi on July 30.

The movement of sacrificial animals for the purpose of slaughtering on the festive occasion of Eidul Azha has been started in town and according to health experts, the sacrificial animals can serve as a source of propagation for ticks infested with CCHF thereby increasing the risk of disease transmission in town.

The CCHF is caused by Nairovirus of the Bunyaviridae family transmitted to humans by the bite of Hyalomma tick or by direct contact with blood of an infected animal or human. The case fatality rate ranges from 2% to 50%. The CCHF was first described in Crimea in 1944 and identified in 1956 in Congo.

The Infectious Diseases unit at RMC and allied hospitals has taken necessary measures to handle CCHF cases and has already issued directives to the concerned staff on measures to be taken while handling any suspect of the infection, said the top official at RMC.

He said personal protective equipment has already been available at the allied hospitals and the concerned staff is trained in dealing such cases as the allied hospitals have been receiving CCHF patients for years and had managed a number of cases successfully.