Two children suspected of Congo fever

RAWALPINDI: Two children, suspected of being infected by the deadly Congo Fever virus, were brought to the Holy Family Hospital on Saturday evening.

Two well-placed sources inside the hospital confirmed that a three-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl Natasha, from two different families in Chakwal, were admitted to the hospital’s isolation ward.

They added that blood samples of the two children had been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) to test for Congo Crimean Hemorrhage Fever (CCHF).

Dr Raja Shafiq, Director Holy Family Emergency Ward, however said that he was not aware of the two patients. “No such patient was brought to the hospital during my shift,” he said.

Earlier, according to Dr Shafiq, one of the two patients infected by the same deadly virus had died.

The other patient, he said, was shifted to a private hospital.

After the death, the hospital administration had decided to send samples of its entire staff to NIH to test for Congo Fever virus. While all ICU staff had been cleared, seven other hospital staff had tested positive.

After four days of treatment however, the hospital decided to resend their blood samples to NIH. “The [original] test results are doubtful because we did not find any symptoms of Congo Virus in [the seven staff members] after four days,” Dr Shafiq said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2010.