Is Transmissibility of Novel Covid-19 Different in a Developing Country Like Pakistan?

A Case Series Highlighting Family Cluster Spread of the First Covid-19 Patients

Abstract

Covid-19 is a huge global public health crisis. The world has not seen such an extensive health emergency for the last hundred years. We report the detailed symptomology, epidemiology, and demography of the first few cases reported in Pakistan. After review of medical records at a private hospital in Karachi, six patients (four men and two women) are included in the present case series. A twenty-six years old male, the first patient diagnosed in Karachi, on February 26th, 2020, had travelled from Iran. He developed fever and respiratory symptoms but was discharged after making a complete recovery. The next group of pilgrims tested positive on March 8th, 2020. One male among them, with a pre-existing medical condition, expired after three weeks.
Rest of the patients made complete recovery. Our findings suggest that Pakistan might have a different strain of Covid-19 compared to the strains found elsewhere.