FAISLABAD: A patient in Faisalabad who was suspected of contracting the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) was, in fact, in the terminal stage of hepatitis C, coupled with an episode of dengue hemorrhagic fever, the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSR&C) and World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The patient, Zulfiqar Ahmad, passed away at the Allied Hospital in Faisalabad last night. According to Express News, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the and directed health authorities to investigate the matter and submit a report to him.
The 40-year-old was a resident of Chiniot district and had returned to Pakistan on November 16 from West Africa where he has been working for the last three years.
The deceased was initially suspected to be suffering from Ebola fever, but the diagnosis was later ruled out as Togo, where he had returned from 10 days ago, is not an Ebola-infected country. Additionally, the patient had not traveled anywhere near the epidemic areas.
Ahmad was hospitalised at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), Chiniot, for having a history of high grade fever, yellowish discolouration of eyes, vomiting and diarrhea or the last five days and loss of consciousness for one day. His condition did not improve and he was subsequently admitted him to Faisalabad’s Allied Hospital where medics, after initial diagnostic tests, feared he might have contracted Ebola.
As an immediate measure of precaution, the Punjab Health Department Punjab sent a field investigation team to the patient’s home town and another to Faisalabad where the patient was admitted for investigation and treatment, in order to track travel history and all potential contacts, a routine practice in epidemic investigation.
The National Institute of Health scientists remained stand by and in continuous contact with provincial authorities throughout the episode on the directions of Minister for NHSR&C and Secretary NHSR&C. WHO - which is working closely with the federal government to help strengthening epidemic preparedness - also sent a team providing technical support to the authorities in investigating and ruling out any suspicion of Ebola.
Furthermore, a five-member mission from Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has arrived in Pakistan to evaluate the country's preparedness to handle the situation. The team will be visiting hospitals and airports to assess and then submit a report with recommendations.
More than 5,000 people were killed in latest outbreak of Ebola West Africa, especially in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
COMMENTS (19)
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@Ch. Allah Daad: The poor guy is so concerned of the "other very dangerous viruses" that he can't even name them. Let me do it for you; PMLN. See? Nothing happened. We have grown immunity to this very dangerous virus but the virus is soon going to die its own death.
but the report of the test was expected to come in two weeks????
Hapititus-C is a fatal liver disease. It's very fast spreading in places where a person's body fluids are not taken as highly contagious bacteria carrying transport system. Wash hands with plain soap & water before meal or touching your or someone else face. There is no vaccine for Happatitus-C. Also don't touch or rub a diseased person. Diseases found to spread faster in Africa where this is a very common social practice.
Ebola is knocking at our doors but we have no room for any more virus when we already have Polio, Hepatitis A,B,C, Dengue, PTI and other very dangerous viruses.
Apart from the death of any individuals, the saddest part is that our health system is woefully underfunded, untrained and generally callous. The photograph makes me cringe. If I recall correctly, it is showing washed gloves, boots laid out to dry so that these could be reused in hospital's operating theatres. I have seen this personally in CMH and it probably occurs at other places as well.
Don't bother with any vaccines they may develop in the future. Pakistanis will see it as a conspiracy against the followers of Islam and shun it. Ebola has found a permanent home.
Can facts not be checked before such things are reported?
ET thank you for scarring us to our lives for your previous report of suspecting the same very man of having contracted Ebola. Such an irresponsible reporting can only be done in Pakistan.
Hope we can learn from it and avoid future incidents from Ebola. RIP
Thank god it was not Ebola. Nevertheless, ebola is still a threat to Pakistan considering that people are going to and coming from west Africa. Even some pakistani troops working for UN peacekeeping force are serving in the region. What should be done is that the government of Pakistan should impose a temporary ban on any Pakistani going to countries with the outbreak or any one coming to Pakistan from there. This might seem harsh and discriminatory but this is much needed because if by any means ebola does outbreak in Pakistan, we'll be pretty helpless.
Set up quarantine immediately in Faisalabad.
@Mishrab: "All the passengers from Africa should be checked at entry point…"
By 'checking' do you mean testing for Ebola? Does Pakistan have the capacity o test for Ebola? If yes, why the reference to suspected of Ebola? If alternatiely you mean quarantine, did ou mean for all African countries though only 4 have an Ebola outbreak? Would you be comfortable with a similar reciprocal quarantine for all Pakistanis by rest of the world due to polio?
The health department didn't wake up with 26 children died in Sargodha and you expect the family enterprise of PML-N and their cronies to wake up and do something about Ebola. Millions will perish in this God forsaken country as our people will not come out for their rights.
Inna Lillahe Wa Inna Ilaihe Rajeoon. Ameen. Why is the GOP not coming out with the truth? Not because citizens will panic but because the GOP does not have the capacity or infrastructure to deal with such a horrific issue. Wake up politicians, bureaucrats, and mullahs. The time is now, or descend into the darker recesses of ignorance and tribalism. Salams
Welcome Ebola, now you are in a country where you can have a long term stay without much resistance, similar to your cousin Polio...
If this was a case of Ebola, and person was in Pakistan since 16/11/14. Locate each and every contact right from his co-passengers to relatives to hospital. Don't forget the taxi drivers. This may turn out to be very very BAD. Rabb mehar kar.
All the passengers from Africa should be checked at entry point...
The health authorities should immediately quarantine the people who where in direct contact with the deceased to prevent further spread of this deadly disease. R.I.P. Zulfiqar Ahmed
Extremely sad and also a wake up call for our health department and hospitals. Quarantine all people he had contact with. Set up quarantine camps at airports. Specially screen people coming in from African countries.