Determining The Burden of Notifiable Infectious Diseases at A Public Sector Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan

Background: The onset of emerging infectious diseases possesses a public health concern with increased morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries like Pakistan. The endemic infections in Pakistan like Dengue, Malaria, Influenza, sporadic infections like Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever, Measles, Diphtheria, Pertussis, and emerging infections like extensively drug-resistant Typhoid and COVID-19 are among some of the priority infections and are declared as notifiable diseases at national level. The objective of the study was to determine the burden of notifiable infectious diseases at a public sector Tertiary care hospital Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Dr. Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi from 1st May 2022 till 31st May 2023. All the patients admitted with notifiable infectious diseases like Dengue fever, Malaria, Typhoid, Influenza, COVID-19, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic with laboratory based confirmed diagnosis were included in the study whereas suspected cases of Measles, Diphtheria infections and Pertussis diagnosed on clinical assessment were also included. Results: Total 662 patients were included in the study whose complete information was available regarding the diagnosis and relevant laboratory reports. The median age of the study participants was 15 years with an IQR of 20 years. 50.8% of all the study participants had Dengue fever, 18.9% (n =125) had XDR Typhoid of the study participants followed by the Malaria and Measles with a frequency of 15.7% (n=104) and 10.3% (n=68), respectively. Median length of hospital stay was 5 days with an IQR of 4 days. 99.7% (n=660) of all the study participants recovered with treatment while only 0.3% (n=02) were died due to disease related complications of the dengue fever. Conclusion: This study identified a dire need of an effective surveillance system for notifiable infectious diseases. Healthcare facilities should develop a comprehensive health information management system to effectively gather and share the information with relevant authorities in timely manner. The information on common notifiable disease is crucial for better health management as well as control and prevention of diseases.