Another Congo virus case detected in Balochistan

QUETTA: A 14-year-old boy has been tested positive who was admitted to the Fatima Jinnah Chest and TB Hospital after Congo virus was found in his blood samples sent to Aga Khan Hospital Laboratory Karachi.

Now the number of patients infected with Congo virus in Balochistan has reached 24 while 10 of them had died of excessive bleeding.Doctors at Fatima Jinnah Chest and TB Hospital said Abdul Wali, 14, was brought from Pishin to Quetta after complaining of bleeding from nose and mouth.

The blood samples of the patient were dispatched to Aga Khan Hospital Laboratory which confirmed the presence of Congo virus in blood. The patient was kept in isolation ward of the hospital and being provided medical treatment.

Another patient identified as Ghulam Muhammad, who is resident of Quetta was also brought to the Fatima Jinnah Chest and TB Hospital with complaint of suffering from continuous bleeding.“We have dispatched blood samples of Ghulam Muhammad to the Laboratory and awaiting results, doctors said.

A senior health expert Dr Mukhtar said the number of patients brought to Fatima Jinnah Hospital after suffering from bleeding this year has reached 86. He said 24 of them had been tested positive and adding that 10 patients had died of Congo virus in Balochistan during current year. He said 60 percent of Congo virus patients brought to the Fatima Jinnah Hospital belonged to Afghanistan and remaining 40 percent were residents of Balochistan.