Another Congo fever patient admitted to JPMC

Three patients of the disease being treated at the hospital’s isolation ward

A 36-year-old butcher was diagnosed with Congo fever at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre on Friday, taking the number of patients suffering from the disease at the hospital to three.

Muhammad Younus, 36, a resident of Baldia Town, was taken to the JPMC on late Thursday night. A polymerase chain reaction test confirmed that he was suffering from Congo fever.

With Younus’ addition, there are now three Congo fever patients being treated at the JPMC’s isolation ward. There is no record of any other Congo fever patients at any private hospital of the province.

The two other Congo fever patients at the JPMC include a 50-year woman from Quetta, Shireen Dost Muhammad, who was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday.

The third patient, 55-year old Walidad, too is from Balochistan and came into contact with cattle before and after Eid-ul-Azha, JPMC joint executive director Dr Seemin Jamali told The News.

Overall, five Congo fever patients were brought to the JPMC this year. Of them, Allah Ditta, 22, from Bahawalpur had died and Shahid, 14, had recovered. The other three, including Younus, are still being treated.

Dr Jamali said Younus was in a very serious condition as he vomited blood thrice since arriving at the hospital and his platelet count was also dropping. “Platelet mega units are being transfused to save his life,” she added.

The total number of Congo patients admitted to the hospitals in Karachi this year has reached 69 and seven of them have died, a health official said. The latest death caused by Congo fever was reported on Monday by the Aga Khan University Hospital where an inspector of the Airport Security Force, Muhammad Sadiq had succumbed to the disease.

Viral and bacterial infections causing lethal diseases are on the rise in Karachi for the last couple of year. Apart from Congo fever, dengue fever and primary amoebic meningoencephalitis caused by microorganism Naegleria folweri have caused dozens of deaths but no preventive measures have been taken by the health authorities in the province.

Presently, there are outbreaks of dengue and Congo fevers in Karachi, but instead of taking preventive measures and raising awareness among the masses, the provincial health authorities are hiding facts from them, often rejecting authentic laboratory reports of patients. With the exception of the JPMC, which has recently set up an isolation ward after much criticism from the media and the public, there is no isolation ward in other hospitals.