Another Congo virus patient dies

A suspected Congo virus patient died at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Karachi, barely three hours after being brought in from Quetta on Friday, raising the death toll from the current wave of the deadly viral infection to three.

The Sindh Health Services director general confirmed the fatality in a statement, saying that at least 17 patients had so far been transferred to Karachi from Balochistan. It is learnt that 14 patients had been under treatment at the Aga Khan Hospital.

Read more: Karachi sets up Congo unit to deal with virus

Medics at the Infectious Diseases Hospital said that the patient died just three hours after being transported to the city from Quetta. He died at the unit set by Sindh government earlier this week, following the outbreak of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), or Congo virus, in Balochistan.

According to a spokesperson for the Sindh health minister, so far two patients had been discharged from the hospital after their full recovery. The two recovered patients included a resident of Karachi East district, the spokesperson added.