Congo virus – a fresh challenge for Balochistan

Contrary to what several local reports suggest, this is not first time the virus has claimed victims in Balochistan

The confirmation of four Congo virus in the Zhob district of Balochistan has set off alarm bells in a province where the state of healthcare is already precarious. Two patients have died and one has been discharged following treatment. A female patient is currently undergoing treatment in Quetta. The patients were all residents of Killi Blump, a small village of about 12 households near Meena Bazaar, about 40 kilometres from Zhob city. The virus causes Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) – a widespread tick-borne viral disease that affects both wild and domestic animals and can be passed on to humans.

Contrary to what several local reports suggest, this is not the first time the virus has claimed victims in Balochistan. The first confirmed case occurred in 2006 when several butchers and livestock buyers in Loralai died of the disease. Elsewhere in the country, the virus claimed the lives of four butchers in Haripur. While in animals the disease is caused by bites from infected ticks, in humans it is spread through close contact with the blood, secretions, or other bodily fluids of infected animals or persons. If the government does not take action and adopt precautionary measures very soon, Congo virus may well follow polio as the next epidemic to hit Pakistan.

The health department in Balochistan has directed the district administration to take precautionary measures in the Zhob district. The district administration maintains that the necessary protocols are in place to ensure proper vaccination of animals for export and that the village itself has been adequately sprayed for ticks. However, the truth is that healthcare facilities are non-existent in these areas and the people are too poor to be able to afford the expenses of travelling to the city for treatment. In the current outbreak, the presence of the Congo virus was only confirmed in the province after the affected patients managed to reach Quetta, a full two weeks after their symptoms first appeared.

Quite embarrassingly, experts in the field of health compare Balochistan with African countries in terms of healthcare because of the wide range of problems and challenges faced by the province. The government claims to have increased the health budget for Balochistan, but the province needs more attention, more funds, and honest people committed to serve its rural areas.

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