First suspected Ebola patient dies in Pakistan

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ISLAMABAD: A patient suspected to be suffering from Ebola virus died in Pakistani industrial city of Faisalabad on Tuesday morning, Xinhua news agency reports citing local media.

Zulfiqar Ahmad, 40, a resident of Chiniot district in Punjab province, had returned to Pakistan from sub-Saharan country of Togo on Nov 16.

Hospital sources said the case will be the first Ebola death in Pakistan if confirmed.

Doctors said Zulfiqar was a chronic patient of various diseases and was hospitalised for nearly three weeks in Togo before coming to Pakistan.

Medical superintendent Dr. Rashid Maqbool of Allied Hospital in Faisalabad told the media on Monday that the patient had serious liver problems.

He was in critical condition when brought to the hospital from a local hospital in his hometown.

The man’s blood and urine samples had been sent to the country’s main testing laboratory at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.

Doctors are waiting for test reports that will determine whether the man had died of Ebola.-Bernama