In sickness and in health: Sindh’s first Congo virus case surfaces in Karachi

Naegleria takes another life and takes toll up to eight.

KARACHI:

Health officials are on high alert as the city’s first Congo patient this year died at a private hospital in Azizabad on Thursday. Doctors and family members of the deceased are afraid that the virus could infect others.

According to sources, 24-year-old Muhammad Kashif, a butcher and resident of Azizabad passed away at the hospital on Thursday. He was laid to rest on Friday morning. Health officials claim that all precautionary measures were taken during the burial process and steps have been taken to ensure that those who came in close contact with the deceased have not been infected.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Karachi EDO Dr Zafar Ejaz said that Kashif was a butcher by profession and probably contracted the disease from an infected animal.

Top officials, including the health secretary, were informed about the death through a letter from the EDO’s office, requesting the department to involve itself as threats of the virus could multiply ahead of Eidul Azha.

“We are taking the issue seriously and are trying to take measures to control it,” he said. “Officials at the private hospital where Kashif died guided the family on how to take care of the patient while our staff was there during the burial to support the family.”

In 2012, three people infected by the Congo virus died in Karachi. All three victims used to work with livestock.

Symptoms

The Congo virus or Crimean Congo Viral Heamorrhagic Fever is a tick-borne viral disease that can spread from domestic and wild animals. Initial signs and symptoms include headache, fever, back and joint pain, vomiting and red eyes. Many people who get infected also get jaundice and as the illness progresses, large areas of severe bruising, severe nosebleeds, and uncontrolled bleeding at injection sites can be seen, beginning on about the fourth day of illness and lasting for about two weeks.

Naegleria claims another life

A man identified as 34-year-old Muhammad Aamer died on Thursday night because of Naegleria, taking the death toll to eight. Health officials believe that water samples taken from his house in Garden West had zero chlorine levels, while officials at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) claim that the area has the required level.

“There was no chlorine in the water samples collected from the deceased’s house,” said Dr Ejaz.

According to Azam Khan, the focal person of the committee on Naegleria, however, when they visited the area water samples indicated that they did have the required chlorine levels.

So far, the committee on Naegleria has been unable to find out what is the major cause of cases in the city. Officials claim they need more time to investigate.

The committee was set up in the second week of June when the first naeglaria case surfaced in the city. It has officials from the the health, local government departments and KWSB who monitor and maintain chlorine levels across the city.

“We are making an effort to maintain chlorine levels in the city but fail to understand what’s happening,” claimed Khan. “People also use ground water which is sometimes contaminated. I doubt that’s the reason but it needs to be looked into.”

Dr Ejaz, on the other hand, believes that the real problem is the lack of chlorine.

Almost 40 per cent of city did not have the required chlorine levels when the committee was set up two months ago. According to some reports, 14 per cent of the city still does not have the required level of chlorine. The health department claims that it is the responsibility of the KWSB to maintain or distribute chlorine tablets among the citizens. The KWSB, however, said that this was difficult to do as the health department had not made such tablets available to them.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2014.