Congo fever claims 8th life in city this year

A 36-year-old butcher died of Congo fever at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre on Saturday.

Muhammad Younus, 36, a resident of Baldia Town, was admitted to the JPMC on late Thursday night. He was vomiting blood, had high fever and was unconsciousness at the time.

A polymerase chain reaction test had confirmed that he was suffering from Congo fever.

Dr Javed Jamali, the JPMC deputy director, told The News that Younus died in the afternoon.

With Younus’ addition, the number of deaths caused by Congo fever in Karachi this year had reached eight.

Health officials said most of these patients died between August and September. Overall, 70 patients were diagnosed with Congo fever in the city this year.

Congo fever is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease. A person contracts the disease after coming in contact with a tick attached to cattle or the secretions of an infected animal.

Most patients contracted the disease during or prior to Eid-ul-Azha.

Two patients taken away

Two patients diagnosed with Congo fever were forcibly taken away by their attendants from the JPMC's isolation ward against medical advice during the last few days, the hospital’s deputy director said.

Dr Jamali said the two patients were kept in the isolation ward to prevent other patients and hospital staff from contracting the disease. Considering their isolation as confinement, the two patients left the hospital without informing the hospital administration and against the medical advice.

Patients with Congo fever are kept in isolation wards, even separated from each other, to prevent others including doctors and paramedics from contracting the viral disease and until it is confirmed through medical examinations that they are no longer infected and cannot spread the viral disease to others, they are not allowed to leave the health facility.

Dr. Jamali said they could not use force to prevent the patients from leaving the JPMC.

“The attendants of the patients took them away arguing they are going to take them to some private hospital.”

Currently, a 26-year old Congo patient from Shah Faisal Colony, Asif Hanif, is under treatment at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. However, the ASH has no isolation ward and facilities to treat Congo fever patients. The attendants of the patient are reluctant to shift him to some other health facility in the city. ASH deputy medical superintendent Dr Hina Hayat said the patient was first taken to the JPMC suffering from high fever, but because of the hospital administration’s lack of attention, his attendants shifted him to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital on Tuesday.