KARACHI, Feb 28: As it would take at least seven more days for the test result of the blood sample, obtained from a suspected Congo fever patient admitted to a city hospital, to arrive from the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, where it has been sent for confirmation, doctors treating the patient suspect that he might be suffering from some other rare viral or bacterial infection.

Prof D.S. Akram, head of the Department of Paediatrics, Civil Hospital, providing treatment to the patient identified as Fahad, told Dawn on Wednesday that the patient’s condition was stable. He had been bleeding from all body orifices when brought to the hospital on Tuesday with high-grade fever. The bleeding, too, had stopped, the doctor said.

Prof Akram said serological tests being conducted on the patient had already excluded the possibility of malaria or encephalitis. The patient also came clear when examined for possible bleeding due to ENT causes. She said she was confident that a definite diagnosis of the patient’s symptoms would be made soon.

The medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Prof Noshad A. Shaikh, said doctors and nursing staff attending the patient were equipped with protective gear to prevent spread of any infection.

He said the boy could have been infected by the suspected Congo virus through goats and other livestock brought from Balochistan for sale on Eid-ul-Azha. He said Fahad lived with his family in the Garden area.

An expert said the hospital should have taken measures to prevent people, particularly students daily visiting there, from contracting the virus even if it was only suspected.