Unnecessary panic: First Ebola suspect a false alarm

Clinical investigation reveals 41-year-old suffers from acute chest infection.


Sehrish Wasif December 02, 2014

ISLAMABAD: A day after a suspected Ebola case surfaced in Karachi, another 41-year-old man was admitted to the isolation ward of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Tuesday afternoon on similar suspicions.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Vice Chancellor and Professor of Internal Medicine Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto Medical University-Pims Javed Akram said clinical investigation suggested that the patient is suffering from acute chest infection not the Ebola virus.



“I have examined him and did not find any clue that would confirm that he has contracted Ebola, however, as a precautionary measure he has been admitted to the isolation ward and blood samples have been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Sharing details, Akram said Tasawar Hussain, the suspected patient, was referred to Pims by the Shifa International Hospital after they ascertained his travel history and considering his present health conditions.

“After finding out that he (Hussain) had come from an African country, SIH suspected he may be suffering from Ebola owing to similar health conditions due to which Pims has taken all the necessary precautionary measures,” he said.

Hussain is a resident of Chakwal and works as a mechanical engineer at Chakwal Cement, he said.

Six weeks ago, the patient returned from Uganda, a county located in East Africa where he stayed for almost 45 days. For the last 10 days, he has been suffering from high grade fever, muscular ache and blood in his urine,” said Akram.

Similarly, according to a press release issued by the health ministry and World Health Organization (WHO), Hussain is not considered a possible Ebola patient based on the non-concurrence of any travel or contact history.

“It is important to mention that only passengers who initiated their travel less than 21 days ago from four Ebola-prone countries (Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone) are subjected to Ebola sanitary control measures. Today’s rumour is therefore unfounded as the passenger came from Uganda, an Ebola-free country, more than three months ago. He suffers from severe chest infection, an occupational condition in this case,” the release said.



When contacted, a senior official at NIH said Hussain was the third person in Pakistan who has been termed as an Ebola suspect.

“Though it is not fair to declare any person returning from an African country and running a temperature as an Ebola suspect, the issue is that Pakistan cannot afford to have the virus here,” he said, adding that “poor infectious prevention and control mechanism in Pakistan leaves us with no other option but to try our best to prevent the virus from reaching our soil.”

The official further said it was not difficult for a senior physician to diagnose a person with Ebola as its symptoms are easily identifiable.

“There is a need to be very careful while terming someone as suspected patient as it psychologically affects not only the patient but also his family,” said the official.

The first suspected case was reported in Faisalabad last month but was later said to have been misdiagnosed. More than 16,000 people have been infected with Ebola and nearly 7,000 have died, according to the WHO.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2014.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ