KARACHI: More than 30,000 patients were victims to a recent outbreak of a mysterious disease, forcing the Sindh Health Minister Sikandar Mandhro to declare a state of medical emergency in Malir. According to sources, the health minister visited Saudabad hospital and said that the virus could not be verified yet and it would take time. However, different patients’ blood samples were dispatched to laboratory on Monday. “The disease hasn’t officially been diagnosed yet, but experts believe it could be Chikungunya virus, considering the symptoms,” he added. Water samples from the residential colony near Sindh Government Hospital were also collected. The minister also directed health workers to appoint four to five doctors from their towns in Malir’s government hospitals. Meanwhile, medical experts said that the disease causes high fever in the beginning and severe pain in the joints, disabling them for three days. Doctors advised to be vary of mosquitoes, as they believed that the disease spreads due to a mosquito bite.