After the surfacing of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus cases in various parts of the country, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has been put on a high alert to control the disease, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.
According to the sources, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) Vice Chancellor Professor Javed Akram has also constituted a special team consisting of senior clinicians and public health experts of the hospital to deal with the disease in the federal capital.
They said that the staff were put on high alert and were asked to take all necessary steps to control the disease according to the SOPs of World Health Organisation.
As a precautionary measure, doctors and nurses were advised to wear personal protective gears (PPG) during the treatment of Congo fever patients, if any, they said.
Sources said that clinicians and officers of PIMS Communicable Disease Control Programme are monitoring the situation regularly and are also in close contact with the district administration.
Special isolation ward in PIMS has been dedicated to Congo fever patients to provide best medical treatment, they added.
In this connection, an important safety workshop regarding Congo hemorrhagic fever is going to be held today (Tuesday) under the chairmanship of Prof Javed Akram.
Associate Professor Dr Rizwan Aziz Qazi, Additional Director Dr Ayesha Isani Majeed, Director Emergency M Zulfiqar Ghouri and Dr Naseem along with others senior staffers will attend the workshop.
Talking to Pakistan Today, a senior doctor at PIMS said that fetal viral disease is usually caused by ticks which are external parasites living on the blood of domestic and wild animals.
He said that livestock department authorities have been asked to start an immediate campaign to eliminate ticks from the cattle and livestock.
Talking about symptoms of Congo fever, he said that symptoms are same as that of dengue fever, as patient usually gets a high-grade fever in the beginning along with pain in joints and other parts of the body. Bleeding from gums, skin and large intestine may also occur and red spot appears on the body.
He said that Congo virus destroys the platelets in human blood and there is no specific medicine for this disease as of yet. It is better to take preventive measures to avoid dealing with this disease, he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that a surgeon from Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital (BVH), Dr Sageer Sameega, had died on July 30 in Agha Khan University Hospital in Karachi, who was diagnosed with CCHF.