Bodies rotting in Khairpur Civil Hospital; Staff infected

Reports from Khairpur have revealed that employees posted in the morgue of Civil Hospital are getting infected amid three rotting dead bodies. The district administration has initiated an inquiry to find facts leading to the situation.

Local journalists have reported that the air-conditioning system in the morgue went out of order, and the facility also ran out of preservers used to store the bodies for a short period before the burial.

Some employees, on condition of anonymity, stated that the hospital’s administration was informed about the situation, but they did not take any action.

The local journalists told Dawn that a visitor shared videos of the ill morgue workers being treated for the infectious disease. Victims reportedly got infected by handling three unclaimed bodies that were swollen and had started rotting.

The morgue’s embalming machines, which prevent bodies from decaying, had reportedly been out-of-order for a long time now.

In one of the videos, a morgue staffer complains that after their colleagues fell ill, they did not bathe and shroud the bodies, which were found infested with decomposing bacteria and insects.

Commissioner Sukkur took notice and asked the medical superintendent (MS) of the Khairpur Civil Hospital to get the matter thoroughly investigated.

A probe committee has been formed to investigate how the air-conditioning system, embalming machines, and other required equipment went out of order. The committee is to submit a report to the MS as soon as possible.

The matter has also been brought to the attention of the provincial chief secretary, and the investigation is underway.

Notably, in one of the recent studies, it was revealed that hospitals are some of the riskiest places to visit, as they are the biggest source of Hepatitis B, C, and HIV infections in Pakistan.