KARACHI: Another Congo fever patient died hours after being shifted to Karachi from Baloch­istan on Friday, raising the death toll from the illness to three in less than a week in the city.

All the three deceased, including one doctor, hailed from Balochistan.

According to the health department, the 35-year-old man was brought at the government-run Sindh Infectious Disea­­se Hospital and Research Centre in critical condition on Friday morning.

“He was immediately put on a ventilator on arrival in the intensive care unit. But he succumbed to complications and passed away later in the afternoon,” health department spokesperson Shabbir Ali Babar said.

He said 16 pa­­­­tients, most of them he­­althcare providers, have recently been shifted from Balochistan to a private hospital in Karachi. On the other hand, only one local case has been reported from Karachi this week, and that patient has already recovered.

Dr Wasim Baig, media coordinator of the Baloch­istan health department, told Dawn that the caretaker government was trying to arrange best possible trea­­­tment for patients.

A senior official said the provincial health department claimed the government would bear all travel and medical expenses of patients.

However, he clarified that air ambulance service provided by the Edhi Welfare Organ­isa­tion was arranged only for those said to be in serious condition while other patients were being shifted by 1122 service ambulances.

He said that during the last one week, 17 cases of Congo fever were reported; of them, two have lost their lives. He said the patient who died in Karachi went for treatment “on his own and was not registered with the Quetta hospitals”.

Saleem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2023