Congo death toll reaches 9 in Quetta

QUETTA: The death toll from the deadly Congo virus has reached 9 in Quetta with two more patients passing away on Friday.

According to sources at the Fatima Jinnah Hospital, the deceased were residents of Quetta and Loralai. Two patients are also being treated at the hospital for Congo.

With Eid-ul-Azha almost upon us, health experts are advising citizens to take special preventive measures to avoid contracting the virus.

According to them, healthcare workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed Congo virus or handling specimens from them should implement standard infection control precautions.

These include basic hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment, safe injection practices and safe burial practices, Dr Wasim Khawaja a public health specialist at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said.

He said that to reduce the risk people should wear protective clothing like long sleeves or long trousers and wear light coloured clothing to allow easy detection of ticks on the clothes.

He said people should use approved chemicals intended to kill ticks on clothing use approved repellent on the skin and clothing regularly examine clothing and skin for ticks if found remove them and avoid areas where ticks are abundant and seasons when they are most active.

Meanwhile, the health department has so far also not distributed any gloves, jackets, and any other mandatory safety accessories for the handling of Congo virus patients at public-sector hospitals.

Congo virus is a widespread viral disease that is commonly spread by ticks found on hairy animals.

The situation needs extra attention as cattle markets are being set up across the country for public to buy sacrificial animals for the religious occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.