KARACHI: Man dies of viral fever at JPMC: Fumigation drive urged
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, Oct 2: One of the six patients of suspected haemorrhagic fever admitted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre died on Monday morning, said sources in the hospital.
It was learnt that a man in his forties suffering from high fever and nose bleeding was brought to the hospital in the early hours from Akhtar Colony. However within hours after his entry to the hospital, while the doctors were yet diagnosing the disease, the patient expired, said a source adding that the case may be not different from the haemorrhagic viral fever.
Health experts are of the view that though the situation pertaining to viral fever was not an epidemic one but the number of such patients brought to the city hospitals had increased and relatively higher than the figure of last year when cases were reported from the entire city.
They said that the number of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever cases received at two government hospitals and a couple of private hospitals indicated the prevailing poor hygienic condition of the city, particularly after the monsoon showers.
According to the health experts, dengue fever or other similar problems were results of mosquito-borne infection. The only way to prevent dengue was to eliminate mosquitoes, they stressed, suggesting that the world health body and the federal health ministry should also probe into the problem of viral infections, which mostly had hit youngsters belonging to lower income group of the society.
Talking to Dawn, JPMC Executive Director Prof Mashoor Alam said that during the last 10-15 days about 12 patients were brought to the hospital with history of high and prolonged fever, bleeding profusely from nose, mouth and gums. Blood samples of the patients have been sent to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad for tests of dengue fever or Congo, he added, saying that some of the patients after treatment had also been discharged.
To a question, Prof Alam said that at present five patients were admitted to the isolation ward of the JMPC, including one from Hyderabad while the remaining from Karachi including one from Chanesar Goth area.
An official from Abbasi Shaheed hospital said that one suspected haemorrhagic fever patient died last week at the hospital.
We have no separate ward for patients suffering from viral infections but keep them in TB isolation ward, which remains normally under utilised, added the official from the MS office.
The medical superintendent of Civil Hospital Karachi, Dr Kaleem Butt, said that his hospital had admitted about ten patients suspected of haemorrhagic fever since September 23. The latest one, Farzana, 22, a house wife, was admitted to some other wards of the hospital some days back, was shifted to the isolation ward of on Monday.
Her blood samples were being sent to the NIH Islamabad. We have already sent samples of other patients to Islamabad from where a good number of the admitted patients had been found Congo negative, while dengue confirmation or rejection is still awaited, he informed.
To a question, Dr Butt said that the CHK had established an isolation ward last year to handle separately such high fever patients last year and all measures were being taken to prevent doctors and paramedics from contracting any infection. We have got medicines to deal with any emergent or epidemic situation related to viral haemorrhagic fever, he added.
Dr Butt said that an inventory of the patients was being duly sent to the WHO representative in Pakistan, federal health ministry, provincial health department, executive district officer, Karachi from time to time. During the month of September, the CHK received as many as 26 cases of suspected haemorrhagic fever, out of which 17 have been found dengue negative, while two were positive, and discharged after treatment, he informed.
The patients admitted at the CHK are A. Malik, 32, a jewellery worker from Pathan Colony, M. Ibrahim, 18, a labourer from Liaquatabad, A. Razzaq, 19, a student from New Karachi, Iqbal Ahmed, 31, a salesman from Gulistan-i-Jauher, Reham Begum, 18, a housewife from Landhi, Anwar, 22, from Karachi, M. Ismail, 27, an embroidery worker from Manzoor colony, and D. Iqbal, 20, another embroidery worker from New Karachi.
Such cases are not only restricted to any particular area or segment of the society, it was also learnt that big private hospitals-- where normally patients from well-off families were brought for treatment--were housing 30-40 cases with history of high and prolonged fever and bleeding from nose and skin.
In view of the cases reported from almost all parts of the city, experts feel that the authorities, including the international bodies should look into the matter seriously and ensure inspection of the residential places and surrounding areas as well to assess the root cause of the cases.
The locality of the patients and their living and working conditions, income, health facilities available to them and the overall environment and hygiene conditions around their houses and schools, needed to be known, said a senior doctor.
It was further said that the city government should also rise to the occasion and ensure an extensive cleanliness campaign with effective aerial and ground spray to eliminate mosquitoes so as to avoid any epidemic.
