ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: Federal and provincial health authorities have been put on high alert following reports of suspected Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) cases from Lahore, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad and Dengue fever cases and deaths in Karachi, Federal Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan announced on Tuesday.
In a statement issued here the minister said the government was constantly in contact with the provincial health authorities to monitor the situation and providing hands on technical advice and assistance.
About the reported cases of CCHF, the health minister said a suspected case of haemorrhagic encephalitis reported from Lahore General Hospital was declared negative for CCHF on investigation by a high level team constituted by the Punjab Health Department, as the patient had no haemorrhagic manifestations at any stage of the disease.
A butcher suspected of having CCHF virus was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in Abbottabad on December 8 and died the next day.
In the meantime a contact of the same patient from Abbottabad, presenting with hemetemesis, reported to the CMH and was later referred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), where his condition is improving.
Samples of both these cases have been sent to WHO Reference Laboratory in South Africa while all the contacts of the index case from Abbottabad have been given Ribavirin tablet as a prophylactic measure.
A woman who was brought to Rawalpindi General Hospital on December 11 with high fever and profuse bleeding after childbirth died the same day.
She was, however, “a confirmed case of Post Partum Haemorrhage (PPH), which means excessive bleeding after delivery”, the minister said.
Her blood samples have also been collected and are being sent to the WHO Reference Laboratory after initial processing at the National Institute of Health (NIH). The patient, however, does not appear to be a case of Viral Haemorrhagic Fever or CCHF according to experts, the minister said.
As soon as the results are available, he said, these would be conveyed to the concerned quarters while the Epidemic Investigation Cell (EIC) of NIH is also closely monitoring the situation and is in contact with the District Health Authorities in Rawalpindi and Abbottabad regarding preventive measures, he said.
About the Dengue Fever situation in Karachi, the minister said, 169 suspected cases were reported from different hospitals in the city. Of these 106 have been discharged after treatment, 56 were under treatment while 47 of these cases were confirmed as dengue by the laboratory results. Seven patients have died of the infection in the city, he said.
QUAKE SURVIVORS CAMPS: Meanwhile a task force constituted to monitor the sanitation and overall environmental health related facilities in the wake of the recent earthquake has visited 15 camps for uprooted people in Azad Kashmir, 25 camps in NWFP and 10 camps in Islamabad, Attock and Chakwal during the last two weeks.
Led by NIH Executive Director Prof K.A. Karamat, the task force was assigned to provide necessary guidance and technical advice to the authorities managing these camps.
The task force observed hygiene conditions and the quality of water being supplied to the affected areas, the waste disposal system and the status of immunization.
It has provided technical guidance to camp managements for safe disposal of waste and maintenance of hygienic conditions. The task force was directed to ensure that under no circumstances should latrines be close to the water source as this poses a potential health risk.
The latrines wherever constructed were under utilized since either there was no system for proper cleaning or there were no doors or there was no water supply to the latrines. Corrective measures were immediately taken and the team’s visit proved to be highly beneficial for the maintenance of hygienic conditions in the relief camps, the minister said.
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