NIH quashes rumours of coronavirus case reported in Pakistan

Says test samples of patient admitted in Nishtar Hospital Multan have been sent to China

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Saturday clarified that there was no confirmed case of coronavirus in Pakistan so far.

“However, one suspected case is admitted in isolation in Multan right now. His clinical condition is stable and not seems to be a case of novel coronavirus. Relevant samples have been taken,” a press release issued by the institute stated.

There are no laboratories in Pakistan equipped to diagnose coronavirus and it has approached the authorities in China and The Netherlands to help confirm suspected cases of passengers arriving in the country.



The pathogen that emerged on December 31 in a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan has killed 41 people and infected at least 1,300 so far and also been detected in Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the United States.

There are only a few laboratories in the world that can detect 2019-nCoV, a new strain of coronavirus that had not been previously identified in humans and little is known about it.

Only the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US and some laboratories in China and The Netherlands can confirm cases.

“We will send samples to these countries for confirmation,” Special Assistant to the PM on Health DR Zafar Mirza said on Friday.



Chairing a meeting of heads of federal hospitals and health institutions, the PM’s aide reviewed the situation and instructed the authorities to step up the establishment of a robust surveillance system and quarantine areas at all ports of entry before February 8.

He reviewed the measures taken by major hospitals for possible cases of coronavirus.

It was decided that special stalls would be set up at the arrival lounges of the country’s airports to inform passengers about the disease.

Pakistan has already started screening passengers at four airports in the country.