Congo virus
The Congo virus situation in Quetta has taken a grim turn, with another patient succumbing to the illness at Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital on Monday.
In addition, five more healthcare workers who contracted the Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) virus at Quetta’s Sandeman Hospital have been transferred to a private hospital in Karachi. This brings the total number of patients relocated to Karachi to 11.
A senior health department official reported that this marks the 18th death due to the Congo virus in Quetta in recent months. Tragically, among the victims are healthcare providers who contracted the virus while caring for patients at Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital.
The Sindh health department’s spokesperson confirmed that 11 Congo fever patients from Quetta had been admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in the past two days. Only those healthcare providers who tested positive for CCHF were sent to Karachi, following the hospital’s diagnosis procedures.
The outbreak of CCHF has instilled fear and concern in both Quetta and Karachi, particularly after an ailing doctor being transported to the city for treatment passed away during the journey.
The Sindh health department has established an eight-bed isolation CCHF unit at the Sindh Government Infectious Disease and Research Centre, ensuring round-the-clock availability of staff. So far, no CCHF cases have been reported in Karachi.
Dr. Hafeez Kakar of the Young Doctors Association-Quetta expressed disappointment over the lack of immediate transportation facilities for affected healthcare providers in Balochistan. He mentioned that they managed to transfer four more doctors to AKUH, but the Balochistan health department has not responded to their request for air transport.
In response to the situation, a high-level meeting led by Interim Chief Minister Mir Ali Mardan Domki was convened in Quetta. The meeting emphasized the enforcement of standard operating procedures (SOPs) during health emergencies and imposed a temporary ban on using private slaughterhouses for animal slaughtering in populated areas under Section 144, lasting for two weeks.
Plans were discussed to move additional patients requiring specialized treatment to Karachi in consultation with relevant authorities, and all affected medical personnel, including doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff, have already been relocated to Karachi.
The CCHF virus causes a severe viral hemorrhagic fever with a mortality rate of up to 40 percent. It is transmitted through ticks and livestock, and it can also spread from human to human through bodily fluids. Healthcare providers are particularly vulnerable without proper infection control measures in place, and currently, there is no vaccine available for the virus.
