RAWALPINDI: The patient who was thought to have contracted Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Rawalpindi was actually suffering with a viral infection, said a health official on Saturday. 

Muhammad Ameen, who hailed from Punjab’s Kharian, had returned from a Middle Eastern country a month ago.

MERS-CoV — not to be confused with COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, pandemic — is a viral respiratory illness first identified in 2012, and has been reported in 27 countries. 

However, Medical Superintendent of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) Dr Tahir Rizvi said MERS-CoV was not detected in the patient.

“The patient has been discharged after his recovery and testing negative for MERS-CoV,” the official said.

Following suspicion of Ameen’s contracting MERS-CoV, at least 40 members of his family were tested for the virus.

The 55-year-old was transferred to BBH in Rawalpindi on September 5, where he remained in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for several days. He was kept in isolation.

The MERS-CoV disease has a mortality rate of around 36%, although this figure may be inflated due to the underreporting of mild, undetected cases.

Symptoms of MERS-CoV include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, with some patients developing severe respiratory distress. The mortality rate is particularly high among those with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes or chronic lung disease.

The infection is usually diagnosed through laboratory testing of respiratory specimens, but early detection remains challenging due to the nonspecific nature of its initial symptoms, which often resemble those of other respiratory illnesses.

Human-to-human transmission has been linked to delays in recognising symptoms and implementing isolation measures, highlighting the critical need for early detection and swift responses to potential cases.

As the world continues to battle respiratory infections, including COVID-19, maintaining awareness of MERS-CoV remains crucial. Public health education, hygiene practices, and responsible interactions with camels are key to preventing the spread of this dangerous virus.

An anxiety attack may be described as physical symptoms of anxiety which include faster breathing, nausea, dizziness, headaches and more.

In addition to being feelings of fear and worry, it can be a reaction to stress. Moreover, people can also go through anxiety when there is no identifiable stressor.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM, there is no set definition of an anxiety attack. Notably, the definition of an anxiety attack is subjective and people may also say that they are experiencing an anxiety attack when in actuality they are describing a panic attack.

That is why it is important to be aware about the physical symptoms, which may be described as an anxiety attack

Feeling lightheaded and dizzy, a churning feeling, or a “knot” in the stomach, restlessness, faster breathing, diarrhoea, sweating, hot flushes, nausea, pins and needles, headaches and backaches and a fast or irregular heartbeat are considered symptoms of an anxiety attack, reported Medical News Today.

Additionally, anxiety may also have a specific trigger, such as an exam, workplace issues, a health issue, or a relationship problem.

It can also be a sign of an anxiety disorder, if it is persistent as well as have symptoms that are less intense than a panic attack.

Furthermore, it usually develops gradually when a person feels anxious.

In addition to being mild, moderate or severe, anxiety tends to develop gradually, and a person is usually worried or concerned at the outset.

KARACHI: Authorities on Saturday confirmed that a fresh case was reported in Sindh’s Hyderabad, taking the total number of polio cases in Pakistan to 24 this year. 

While the latest case from Hyderabad marked the city’s second polio case, it also became the fifth polio case recorded in the Sindh province this year, sources at the National Emergency Operations Centre confirmed.

The latest case was diagnosed in a two-and-a-half-year-old child from Hyderabad’s Neronkot area, who was left paralysed by the virus. 

A day earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had reported its second after a 10-month-old baby girl in the province’s district Kohat was diagnosed with the virus, which left the child paralysed.

The infant from Kohat’s Tehsil Darra Adamkhel had contracted the wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) on September 12.

Before that, authorities had confirmed that a 30-month-old boy from Pishin, Balochistan, was struck by the poliovirus marking the province’s 15th case this year.

All these cases were reported within this week marking almost a daily growth in the number of polio cases, leading to increased scrutiny of the country’s polio eradication efforts.

So far, Balochistan remains the epicentre of the outbreak with 15 confirmed cases, while Sindh has now reported five. Additionally, Punjab and Islamabad have each recorded one case, while KP has reported two.

Earlier this week, Muhammad Anwarul Haq, the national coordinator for the Polio Emergency Operations Centre, emphasised the urgency of addressing gaps in efforts to fight this disease.

“Every missed vaccination is an opportunity for the virus to win,” he warned.

Calling for collective action from both the government and the public, Haq highlighted that the solution lies in ensuring timely and repeated vaccinations for all children.

Meanwhile, Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person for polio eradication, also voiced frustration at the lack of progress and immunisation coverage as a result of parental refusals, often due to misinformation or mistrust.

Pakistan’s polio eradication programme organised an anti-polio campaign in 115 districts of the country this month in which 33 million children under the age of five years were given polio vaccinations.

However, the programme continues to face significant challenges, particularly in areas where insecurity, misinformation, and parental refusals hinder vaccination campaigns.

Despite these obstacles, authorities have updated the National Polio Eradication Emergency Operations Plan and have planned two major door-to-door vaccination campaigns later this year in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus.