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 concludes 60-hour joint military exercise featuring 19 states, including Saudi Arabia, US
- Exercise also featured participation from Turkiye, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan and Qatar, says military’s media wing
- Says exercise is designed to enhance professional military skills through exchange of innovative ideas, tactical experiences
ISLAMABAD: A 60-hour-long joint military exercise organized by Pakistan’s army concluded this week at the eastern city of Kharian, featuring participation from 19 countries including Saudi Arabia and the US, the military’s media wing said.
The 9th International Pakistan Army Team Spirit (PATS) Competition is a 60-hour-long patrolling exercise, which the Pakistani military says is designed to enhance professional military skills through the exchange of innovative ideas, tactical experiences and best practices among participating teams.
The exercise was held from Feb. 5-9 in the semi-mountainous terrains of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, providing participants a “realistic and challenging operational environment.” Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir attended the closing ceremony of the exercise on Monday and presented awards to participants.
“Over the years, PATS has evolved into a prestigious and highly competitive military exercise, recognized for promoting professional excellence and mutual learning among participating nations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“The forum continues to strengthen military-to-military cooperation and understanding, while fostering camaraderie and team spirit in a demanding operational setting.”
This year’s exercise featured participants from 19 countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Turkiye, USA and Uzbekistan, the ISPR said.
Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand attended the exercise as observers while 16 domestic teams from the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy, along with observers from the Pakistan Air Force also participated in the event.
Munir appreciated participating teams for their “exceptional professionalism, physical and mental endurance, operational competence and high morale” displayed during the exercise, the military’s media wing said.
“He emphasized the importance of such multinational engagements in enhancing collective preparedness and adapting to the evolving character of modern warfare,” the ISPR added.
Pakistan routinely holds joint air, ground and sea exercises with regional countries and traditional allies to foster interoperability to counter threats to global peace.
