Public health: Congo virus incidence to be monitored after two cases

Quarantine orders issued for those in close contact with the patients

LAHORE: Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafiq has constituted a special team to submit a report on prevalence of Congo Fever after two cases were reported from Bahawalpur.

Meanwhile, the Health Department has issued directives to quarantine all people in close contact with two Bahawal Victoria Hospital doctors diagnosed with the disease and a student nurse who died while she was under treatment at BVH for abdominal pain.

These decisions were taken at a meeting on Friday. The meeting was chaired by Rafiq. The meeting decided that those related to the two patients and the deceased nurse should be kept under surveillance for the incubation period of the virus to control the spread of the disease.

Earlier, the health services DG informed the meeting that a student nurse from Lodhran’s district headquarters (DHQ) hospital had undergone a surgery at BVH for a condition involving severe abdominal pain. He said the nurse had later died.  Four days later, Dr Saghir, who operated on the nurse, was admitted to a private hospital in Karachi with symptoms of hemorrhagic fever. He was later diagnosed with Congo fever. A house surgeon had also developed similar symptoms. The health services DG said that after confirmation of Congo fever in both cases, an alert was issued in Lodhran and Bahawalpur districts.

He said teams comprising personnel from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Health Department were monitoring the situation. Blood samples had been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad for laboratory examination, he added.

The DG said directives had been issued for doctors and nurses to wear personal protective gear (PPG) available at all public hospitals.

Rafiq directed the DG to remain vigilant and to ensure round-the-clock monitoring of the situation. He said the Health Department had approached the livestock department with a request to start an immediate campaign to eliminate ticks from cattle and livestock across the province. Press Statement

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2016.