A tragic development in Quetta, Pakistan has raised alarm within the healthcare community as a young doctor succumbed to the lethal Congo virus fever. This unfortunate incident has prompted a swift response from authorities in Balochistan province, leading to a high alert being issued across medical facilities in the provincial capital, PTI reported.
The Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus has taken a toll on the region, claiming the lives of 17 individuals this year alone, according to Abdullah Khan, Secretary of the Health Department. This alarming situation has prompted a heightened state of emergency in hospitals and medical centers.
The urgency became evident when it was revealed that 16 healthcare professionals, including doctors from two local hospitals, had been infected with the virus. Initially, three doctors, including two female practitioners, were identified as carriers of the Congo virus at the Civil Hospital in Quetta. Subsequent testing confirmed that an additional 13 healthcare workers at the Fatima Jinnah Medical Centre were also infected.
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In response, the affected doctors, who were in critical condition, were airlifted to a private hospital in Karachi, while others were transported by road in ambulances to the city. Tragically, one of the critical patients, Dr. Shakarullah Baloch, passed away, and the two female doctors remain in critical condition.
Dr. Arif Sultan of the Young Doctors Association revealed that the infected healthcare professionals had also treated patients at other medical facilities, raising concerns about potential further transmission.
Efforts are underway to contain the outbreak, including testing attendants of patients who visited the trauma centers and advising them to refrain from further visits to prevent the virus's spread.
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Abdullah Khan emphasized the gravity of the situation, noting that 17 lives had already been lost to the Congo Virus this year in the province.
The Congo virus, which is transmitted through tick bites or contact with infected animal blood or tissue during and after slaughter, also poses a risk of human-to-human transmission through close contact with the body fluids of an infected individual. Its symptoms include high fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, body pain, and a stiff neck.
