ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has confirmed and successfully treated its first case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus, health officials and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said.
The patient, a 55-year-old man from Kharian, near Gujrat, had recently returned from a Middle Eastern country, where he is believed to have contracted the virus.
The patient arrived in Pakistan on September 3. The following day, he was admitted to a private hospital in Jhelum with respiratory and heart-related issues. His condition prompted concerns among health authorities.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, the World Health Organisation had notified Pakistani authorities that the patient had tested positive for MERS-CoV before arriving in the country.
On September 5, the patient was transferred to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) in Rawalpindi, where he was placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for several days. After receiving intensive medical care, the patient made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital.
BBH officials reported that more than 40 persons who had come into contact with the patient were also tested, all of whom were cleared of the virus.
MERS-CoV, first identified in 2012, is primarily transmitted from dromedary camels to humans and has been reported in 27 countries. The virus has a mortality rate of approximately 36%, though experts caution that the figure may be inflated due to the underreporting of mild cases.
Health officials have raised concerns about the potential for human-to-human transmission of MERS, particularly in healthcare settings where delays in isolation can contribute to the spread of the virus.
MERS-CoV symptoms typically include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, but early detection is often difficult as these symptoms are similar to those of other respiratory infections. The virus poses a greater threat to individuals with pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes or chronic lung disease, which increases the risk of severe complications.
