Patient dies of Congo fever as cases surface in Peshawar, other cities of KP.

PESHAWAR -- The cases of Congo fever are on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as one of the four patients admitted to Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) Peshawar died of the disease.

The health department has asked the relevant officials in all the districts of the province to send specimens from the suspected patients to the public health reference laboratory at Khyber Medical University.

The health experts have warned the people against coming into close contact with animals at cattle markets or during sacrificial rituals on Eidul Azha. They have asked for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests at the district hospitals for immediate diagnosis as health facilities have started receiving patients infected with Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF).

'CCHF is usually transmitted by ticks and through contact with infected animal via blood. Last year, a Class-IV employee died when he came into contact with an infected patient at one of the medical teaching institutions. Bites by ticks cause the infection,' said a senior physician.

Health dept directs district officials to send specimen to KMU lab for test

The doctors at Hayatabad Medical Complex admitted four Congo fever patients. Two of the patients were confirmed while the others were being investigated when one of them breathed his last.

'The cases of Congo virus are on the rise as currently four patients are under-treatment at one of the medical wards only. Two of the patients could afford the Congo PCR from Aga Khan University and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Reaserch Centre that charge Rs15,000 and Rs13,000, respectively, for the tests,' a physician told Dawn few hours ago the death of one of the patients.

On Wednesday, the staffers of the hospital were collecting contributions to conduct PCR tests of the other two patients but a team from directorate-general of health services (DGHS), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, visited the hospital and informed them that the investigations could be conducted free of cost at public health reference laboratory of Khyber Medical University.

'We are also issuing a circular to ask all the hospitals throughout the province to dispatch specimens from the suspected patients to the KMU,' a senior official at DGHS told Dawn.

The KMU laboratory is also conducting PCR tests to diagnose not only Congo but also cholera, typhoid, dengue and Covid-19. 'The PHRL is receiving four to five samples...