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  • Pakistan: Crimean Congo fever cases

    Sunday, September 27, 2009

    Patient tests negative for Congo fever
    * 65-year-old patient was brought to PIMS bleeding from nose, eyes and other parts of body
    * NIH declares he is not a patient of Congo fever

    By Mahtab Bashir


    ISLAMABAD: A suspected Congo fever patient was admitted to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Saturday but after laboratory test it was confirmed that he had not contracted the virus, Dr Waseem Khawaja, the hospital?s spokesman, told Daily Times.

    Dr Khawaja said Ghulam Hussain, 65, a resident of Haripur, was brought to hospital on Saturday with suspected symptoms of Congo fever.

    ?Hussain was brought here bleeding from his eyes, nose and other parts of body. Immediately, he was shifted to an isolation ward and samples of his blood dispatched to National Institute of Health (NIH). After laboratory test, the NIH confirmed that Hussain was not a patient of Congo virus,? Dr Khawaja said.

    He said PIMS administration had already placed the hospital under emergency and established an isolation ward for treatment of swine flu and Congo virus patients.

    He said Congo virus or viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) refer to a group of illnesses that were caused by several distinct families of viruses. ?In general, the term ?viral hemorrhagic fever? is used to describe a severe multi-system syndrome. Characteristically, overall vascular system is damaged, and the body?s ability to regulate itself is impaired in this disease,? he said.

    He said its symptoms often included marked fever, fatigue, dizziness, muscle aches, loss of strength, and exhaustion. ?Patients with severe cases of VHF often show signs of bleeding under the skin, in internal organs, or from body orifices like the mouth, eyes, or ears. They may bleed from many sites around the body but these patients rarely die because of blood loss,? Dr Khawaja said.

    He said the patients received supportive therapy and there was no other treatment or established cure for VHF. ?Ribavirin, an anti-viral drug, has been effective in treating some individuals with Lassa fever or HFRS, but it is very expensive and not everyone in Pakistan can afford it,? he said.

    Earlier on Friday, Fazal Dad, 58, a resident of Abottabad, was admitted to PIMS bleeding from his nose, eyes, and other parts of body. After laboratory test, he was confirmed a patient of Congo fever.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-9-2009_pg11_6
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  • #2
    Re: Pakistan: Crimean Congo fever cases

    Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=202474

    Congo fever suspect lands at PIMS
    Saturday, October 10, 2009
    By Shahina Maqbool
    Islamabad

    A 32-year-old Pakistani, Abdul Ali Mian, who had been working as a driver in Saudi Arabia, returned to Islamabad on Friday, with symptoms of Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF). The patient, who had been under treatment in a private hospital in Saudi Arabia, got himself admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where he was driven straight from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport.

    According to PIMS spokesman Dr. Waseem Khwaja, Abdul Ali is suspected as suffering from CCHF, and has been moved to the isolation ward, where barrier nursing protocols are strictly being adhered to. Relevant samples of the patient have been dispatched to the National Institute of Health (NIH). ?The patient is bleeding from the nose and gums, and has high fever and body rash,? Dr. Waseem said, terming him ?critical.?


    An endemic tick-borne viral disease, CCHF is transferred to humans through tick bite or through direct contact with blood or other infected tissues from livestock infected with the virus. Symptoms include fever, aching muscles, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, backache, headache, sore eyes and sensitivity to light.

    Other clinical signs that may emerge include fast heart rate, dramatic drop in platelet and white blood cell counts, bleeding from the upper bowel, blood in the urine, nosebleeds, and bleeding from the gums. The severely ill may develop liver and kidney failures after the fifth day of illness. In patients who recover, improvement generally begins on the ninth or tenth day after the onset of illness.
    [/B]
    Meanwhile, following the confirmation of four cases of dengue fever on October 8, another case was added to the tally on Friday when the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed 16-year-old Asiya, a resident of Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as suffering from the same disease.

    Asiya is currently under treatment at the PIMS, where the remaining four patients are on the road to recovery. However, unlike other confirmed cases, Asiya has been described by hospital sources as being in a critical condition. She came to the PIMS with a two-week history of fever and drowsiness.[/B]

    Dengue fever is caused by a species of mosquito known as aedes aegypti. This mosquito, which usually bites in the day, breeds in water in flowerpots, water accumulated in old tyres and broken plastic ware or even in stagnant water in the lawn or backyard of homes. In appearance, this specie of the mosquito is distinguished from others by the white spots it carries on its body.

    Dengue was first reported in Pakistan in Karachi in 1994. Among the symptoms of the disease is high-grade fever, which starts three days after the mosquito bite. The fever could continue for seven days followed by acute headache and pain in back of the eyes known as retro-orbital pain, along with acute pain in the muscles and joints.

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