Suspected Congo virus patient dies

Two more suspected patients admitted to Fatima Jinnah Hospital

QUETTA: A suspected Congo virus patient brought to Quetta’s Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital passed away on Saturday, while another believed to be suffering from the disease was admitted.

The patient belonging to Loralai district was admitted to the hospital on Thursday bleeding from mouth and nose and with high fever. A blood sample of the patient had been dispatched to Karachi for diagnosis but he did not survive and died before the results were concluded.

Another patient from Pishin district suffering from the same symptoms was brought to Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital and had been diagnosed with Congo virus, the Head of the Congo ward said.

In the last four months, 25 patients suspected of having Congo fever have been brought to the hospital from different areas of the province and 12 of them have been confirmed as suffering from the disease after diagnosis.

In recent years, the Congo virus has hit Balochistan on the occasion of Eidul Azha, as most of the affected patients had been engaged in the business of herding.

Although the current Balochistan government has yet to take any serious measures to counter the disease, governments in the past have been taking preemptive measures to stop the spread of the virus including spraying in cattle markets.