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At
Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), 43 patients are currently hospitalized
with suspect viral haemorrhagic fever; most of them were admitted
during the last two weeks. This obviously reflects a sudden increase
in the number of such cases and is a cause of concern. So far, a total
of 403 patients with ages ranging between 6 to 82 years were admitted
at AKUH between June 14 to October 31, 2006 with viral haemorrhagic
fever. Out of these, nine patients expired due to severity of disease,
while 350 recovered and were discharged. The patients suffered from
symptoms ranging from bleeding, diarrhoea, vomiting to abdominal pain.
A hundred and seventy four patients were diagnosed to have Dengue
haemorrhagic fever, three patients suffered from Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic
Fever (CCHF), while in the remaining, the special serological tests were either
negative or the results are pending. A total of 385 patients were received from
Karachi and the remaining patients came from Larkana, Hyderabad, Dadu, Saedabad,
Nawabshah, Gharo, Mirpurkhas, Sujawal, Rahim Yar Khan, Gilgit, Baluchistan and
Saudi Arabia.
Dr Farhat Abbas, Medical Director & Associate Dean, Clinical
Affairs, Aga Khan University Hospital.
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