Pakistan: Three deaths from Congo virus recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Karachi

Islamabad: According to The Express Tribune, three Congo virus-related deaths were reported in Pakistan on Thursday, including two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Karachi.

While deaths in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been reported from North Waziristan and Karak, the deceased in Sindh has been identified as a 25-year-old fisherman from Ibrahim Hyderi.

Muhammad Zubair, a resident of Malir district, began exhibiting symptoms such as a high temperature, muscular soreness, stomach discomfort, coughing, diarrhea, blood, and unconsciousness on June 16, according to health authorities.

When he was brought to Jinnah Hospital, medical professionals feared he was infected with the Congo virus. Lacking specialized medical facilities, he was sent to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital, where he passed away at 7 am on June 19.

A search and response team has been sent to the affected region by the Sindh Health Department. People who had close contact with the dead have been identified and tracked down as part of contact tracing investigations.

No other instances have been documented as of yet. According to The Express Tribune, residents and the victim’s family have been urged to take stringent precautions to prevent the disease from spreading.

The death occurred after another virus-related death was reported earlier this week. On June 16, a 42-year-old man from Malir district was brought to Indus Hospital in Korangi, where he passed away the following day.

At Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Hayatabad Medical Complex, two Congo virus patients from the districts of Karak and North Waziristan passed away. Three people have now died in the province as a result of these deaths.

In the meanwhile, the hospital is treating three more virus-infected patients in isolation wards.
According to The Express Tribune, contact tracing and sanitization efforts have started at the houses of the afflicted and dead, according to Health Advisor Ehtesham Ali.

He said that all Pakistani hospitals were informed of the Congo virus advice prior to Eid al-Adha because of the heightened risk of transmission caused by the transportation and killing of sacrifice animals.

Tick bites or contact with the blood and tissues of infected animals, particularly during and just after slaughter, may spread the deadly Congo virus.