Quetta Hospitals on High Alert After Doctor Succumbs to Congo Virus

A recent fatality of the Congo virus in Quetta, Pakistan, has triggered an elevated state of vigilance in healthcare facilities. So far, the virus has taken the lives of 17 individuals in Balochistan this year.

In a tragic turn of events, a young doctor in Quetta has succumbed to the deadly Congo virus fever, prompting a state of high alert in medical facilities throughout Balochistan.

This year alone, the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus has claimed the lives of 17 individuals in the southwestern province, as reported by the Secretary of the Health Department, Abdullah Khan.

The emergency alert was activated in hospitals and medical centers following the revelation that 16 healthcare professionals, including doctors from two provincial hospitals, had contracted the virus.

Initial diagnoses identified three doctors, including two females, as infected with the Congo virus at the Civil Hospital in Quetta. Subsequent testing confirmed an additional 13 healthcare professionals at the hospital and the Fatima Jinnah Medical Centre to be infected.

Recognizing the severity of the situation, the healthcare workers were swiftly transported for treatment. Dr. Arif Sultan of the Young Doctors Association noted that the infected doctors, in critical condition, were airlifted to a private hospital in Karachi, while others were transported by road in ambulances to the city.

Tragically, one of the critical patients, Dr. Shakarullah Baloch, passed away in Karachi, and the two female doctors remain in critical condition.

Dr. Khan pointed out that these healthcare professionals also attended to patients at other hospitals and medical centers, raising concerns of potential transmission.

To contain the spread of the virus, attendants of patients who visited trauma centers are being tested for the virus and advised to refrain from visiting the centers. Dr. Khan emphasized that this year, 17 individuals lost their lives in the province due to the Congo virus.

The virus can be transmitted to humans through tick bites or contact with infected animal blood or tissue during and after slaughter. Human-to-human transmission is also possible through close contact with the body fluids of an infected person. Symptoms of the Congo virus include high fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, body pain, and a stiff neck.