Congo fever patient admitted to JPMC

KARACHI: Authorities at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) has confirmed another patient with Congo-Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) has been admitted to their hospital. "Muhammad Afzal, a factory worker, was brought to JPMC emergency with symptoms similar to CCHF infection and today he was confirmed having the viral disease after lab results,” Executive Director JPMC Dr Seemin Jamali told The News on Thursday. She said the patient had been shifted to an isolation ward in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to prevent other patients from contracting the viral infection. She added that so far 14 Congo patients had been brought to the hospital, and five of them had died. This year, 10 people have lost their lives at various Karachi hospitals because of CCHF with the last patient losing his life on September 11, when 22-year old Haider Ali Jaffari, a cattle caretaker and resident of Mehmoodabad, had died at the JPMC. Health officials say Congo fever is a lethal viral infection that is transmitted to humans from animals, especially cattle and livestock. Patients are kept in isolation wards to prevent other patients and doctors and paramedics from contracting the disease. Seven of the 10 victims were from different areas of Karachi, and three were from Quetta and the adjoining areas in the Balochistan province.