Congo virus: Doctors warn against outbreak of disease

Infected animals should be barred from entering cities, says expert

KARACHI: The government's poor planning can make Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) an epidemic, said Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) Karachi president Atif Siddiqui.

However, the government still has enough time left to prevent an outbreak of the disease, he said while addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday afternoon.

He added that the recent death of a doctor during the treatment of the deadly disease at a private hospitals is not the first case of Congo virus in Pakistan's history in which a doctor caught the virus while treating a patient. Earlier, a neurosurgeon at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre also passed away after contracting Congo virus, he said.



He urged the government to take substantial measures to prevent the outbreak of the disease. "Prevention is easier than the cure and there is still some time left to avoid such cases from occurring," he said, adding that the cost of prevention is even less than 1% of the cost of treatment.

According to Siddiqui, the government needs to take preemptive measures so not even a single person is affected by the deadly disease.

Sacrificial animals

The government should spray sacrificial animal markets and diseased animals should be banned from entering the cities and isolated to avoid contact, he said, adding that people themselves should also take necessary measures to avoid being affected.

He also emphasised that the waste material of sacrificial animals should be disposed properly. He mentioned that the government needs to make isolated wards in every tertiary and secondary care hospital rather than waiting for a case to emerge.

Haematologist and former office bearer of PIMA Dr Saqib Ansari said that the government should focus on villages to control the virus from spreading, since the primary outbreak location is where cattle are bred and kept.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2016.