Daily Times

Two suspected cases of the fatal virus Ebola have emerged in Pakistan: one in Karachi and another in Islamabad. Both of them had travelled from African countries where the endemic has escalated out control. According to the authorities, Muhammad Haroon, who travelled from Liberia, the West African country which is worst hit by Ebola as its death toll stands around 3,000 so far, arrived at Karachi airport and after going through the required health tests at the airport showed symptoms of Ebola. He was immediately taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and quarantined as the disease is robustly communicable. The shocking news comes later when you get to know that our country does not even have the facilities to test whether the patient is suffering from Ebola or not. So, his fate (and probably of the country’s too), is in limbo because his blood samples have been dispatched to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, which will decide to what country these samples will be sent for tests. The problem does not appear to be on our government’s priority list at this moment. The same can be expected with the second suspected patient who is currently admitted to PIMS Islamabad.

The virus, Ebola haemorrhagic, has caused around 6,000 deaths so far across the world and the affected countries are facing the worst kind of travel restrictions. The World Health Organisation warned Pakistani authorities long ago of the potential spread of the virus in the country considering the amount of travel going on in the world. Certainly, the amount of inter- and intra-country travel is unprecedented and a virus as contagious as Ebola can grip the world faster than we can imagine. However, keeping with their track record of ill-preparedness, the Pakistani authorities are basking in complacency, waiting for the disease to spiral out of control. Imagine the situation where a country does not even have the required detection and testing equipment and facilities. How is it going to stop the endemic let alone treat the victims? The outcome of not tackling polio and dengue is before us. The country is not in a position to confront yet another epidemic. The authorities need to hurry up and arrange all the necessary pre-emptive measures to meet the challenge. The entire world and health organisations have their eyes on the spread of this disease, and for sure they will come to aid Pakistan but only if we show some desire to do so. *