Eight more cases of Congo virus have been found in Quetta, including five doctors. At the same time, an unknown pathogen has spread in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a government hospital in Balochistan’s capital.
According to a spokesperson from the Balochistan Health Department’s Integrated Health Monitoring and Emergency Response Unit, 16 medical staff members in the Civil Sandeman Hospital in Quetta have been affected by this new pathogen in the ICU. They have been moved to a separate ward for treatment.
The symptoms of this new illness include:
- Sudden and severe body pain.
- High fever along with stiffness and chills.
- Mild respiratory symptoms.
- A decrease in platelet count.
- Lymphopenia, which means a lower-than-normal number of white blood cells.
This new illness is highly contagious. It can easily spread from person to person. Health teams are working to control the situation, and they are testing samples in laboratories to identify the exact cause of the illness. All necessary steps to prevent and test for the pathogens have been put in place.
