Congo scare looms after surgeon dies at AKUH

A surgeon at a public hospital in Quetta, Balochistan suffering from the Congo Crimean Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) died on Tuesday at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). Senior surgeon and assistant professor at the Bolan Medical College Hospital, 44-year-old Dr Ayaz Mandokhel Khan was brought to Karachi on September 14 on suspicion of being infected with the Congo virus after performing a surgical operation of an afghan refugee woman at a private hospital two days earlier.
Besides Ayaz, his assistant Imran was also diagnosed to be infected with the deadly virus and is under treatment at Fatima Jinnah Hospital Quetta (FJHQ). Initially, Ayaz was also admitted to the same hospital but when doctors failed to identify the disease he was suffering from, he was shifted to Karachi and admitted at the AKUH.An AKUH official, on condition of anonymity, told Pakistan Today that the surgeon had been unconscious since he was brought to the hospital.
“As per procedures, when a patient in serious condition arrives at the hospital, we do not start the treatment until the patient is diagnosed properly after laboratory tests,” the official said. “Laboratory tests confirmed Dr Ayaz was suffering from CCHF but he died today after week-long treatments as the virus had penetrated deep into his body.”
Dr Ayaz’s widow told Pakistan Today that the surgeon had been tired and was shivering with high fever when he returned from the hospital on September 12.
“The very next day, I accompanied him to FJHQ where doctors told me there was nothing to worry about as he was suffering from fever. But later in the day, he also started complaining about gastric problems,” she said.
She had been married to Dr Ayaz around 14 years ago and they had three children.
The surgeon’s widow added: “We then came to Karachi and have been residing with our relatives.”
“The doctors at AKUH had already told us there were minimum chances of his survival.”
“As we belong to a village in Zhob district, Balochistan, [Ayaz’] body was taken there for burial.”
Provincial Surveillance Cell in-charge Dr Shakil Malik told Pakistan Today that Ayaz was the fourth CCHF patient to be admitted to two private hospitals in the city since May. “The three other Congo virus patients were discharged after fully recovering from the disease.”
He added that the city is not at risk of an outbreak of Congo virus as all the reported patients in Karachi were either brought from outside the city or some other country.