KARACHI: Health facilities in Karachi in recent weeks have treated patients suffering from high fever who displayed dengue symptoms, said medical practitioners on Friday, though these individuals tested negative for the disease.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that usually causes body aches and extreme weakness. According to a Sindh health department report, 4,535 patients have tested positive for dengue in the country’s southern province since January while 19 of them have died due to the disease.
Medical practitioners said they were trying to determine if the fever was caused by a new virus or an existing one which had mutated.
“We have observed a number of cases where patients displayed dengue symptoms but tested negative for the mosquito-borne disease,” said Dr. Ghulam Sarwar, a top official at the Saylani Blood Bank, while confirming reports that a “mysterious virus” was found by doctors and pathologists in Karachi.
Describing the symptoms, he said it caused a quick dropping of platelets along with high fever and the recovery process was slow among patients.
“Clinically, these look like dengue cases, though hematological findings suggest otherwise,” he said, adding that his organization was maintaining data of such cases.
“Like any new virus, we don’t have kits to detect this one as well,” he continued while hoping that testing equipment would soon be available in the market.
Dr. Sarwar maintained there was already a surge in dengue cases in Karachi along with other viral infections.
Dr. Zeeshan Hussain, a senior hematopathologist with a public sector civil hospital, confirmed the initial reports while talking to Arab News, saying he had seen a significant number of patients with dengue symptoms who were otherwise not suffering from the disease.
“The number of cases of mysterious virus is significant,” he said.
Dr. Naseem Salahuddin, head of the department of infectious diseases at Indus Hospital, said health authorities should pay attention to these cases and try to identify the virus at the earliest.
“There are three possibilities,” she said. “This can be Zika virus which was found in people arriving from India who had similar symptoms. Zika virus can be dangerous for women since it causes abnormalities in newborns. It can also be Chikungunya virus which was witnessed in the past. The last possibility is these are dengue cases that have falsely tested negative.”
Hussain maintained, however, there were hardly any chances of false negatives when the number of such cases was so large.
“Although we don’t have the exact figures, but the number of patients suffering from this illness remained high in the last couple of weeks,” he added. “You cannot have so many false negative tests when the population of such patients is so significant.”
Pakistani medical practitioners confirm reports of 'mysterious virus' in Karachi
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Pakistani medical practitioners confirm reports of 'mysterious virus' in Karachi
- Hospitals in the country’s seaside metropolis have received patients with dengue symptoms who tested negative for the disease
- Dengue is a mosquito-borne illness that causes quick dropping of platelets along with high fever
Pakistan plans digital wheat tracking system, steps up Ramadan price monitoring
- Government says adequate stocks available ahead of the upcoming harvesting season
- It instructs provinces to prevent flour price spikes during the holy month of Ramadan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to introduce digital traceability and tighter supply chain monitoring in its wheat procurement system under a new long-term policy, the food security ministry said on Saturday, as authorities move to curb price volatility during Ramadan.
The announcement followed a meeting of the National Wheat Oversight Committee chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain to review procurement arrangements, stock availability and price stability measures ahead of the upcoming harvesting season.
The review comes after riverine floods during last year’s monsoon season damaged farmlands in parts of eastern Punjab, the country’s main wheat-producing region, raising concerns about crop output. Officials at the meeting, however, expressed satisfaction over existing wheat stocks, saying sufficient supplies were available across provinces to meet national consumption needs until the arrival of the new crop.
“The Federal Minister emphasized that the current procurement framework will remain applicable for one year,” the statement said. “He stated that the Federal Government is working on a comprehensive long-term wheat policy for the period 2026–2030, aimed at strengthening national food security through modern reforms.”
“He highlighted that the upcoming policy will focus on digital traceability mechanisms, improved supply chain monitoring, enhanced transparency, and sustained price stability, enabling better coordination between the federal and provincial governments,” the statement added.
The committee was informed that the illustrative wheat procurement price has been fixed at 3,500 rupees ($12.55) per 40 kilograms, and provinces have been asked to ensure smooth implementation of procurement operations.
Special emphasis was also placed on consumer protection during Ramadan.
“The Federal Minister directed all provinces to ensure strict market monitoring and take effective administrative measures to prevent any unnecessary increase in flour prices,” the statement continued.
