Daily Times

There was a time when leaving your house without wearing a full sleeves shirt or lathering yourself in mosquito-repellent first was considered suicide. You will get dengue everybody would warn, and for a long time this was indeed the reality.

Everywhere you went, somebody had a story about either a relative or friend suffering from this deadly virus, or unsolicited advice on ‘sure-fire’ ways of eradicating it in from your home. Vans were routinely seen patrolling neighbourhoods and spraying insecticide over places where stagnant water was visible, while TV channels were awash with state sponsored public messages warning against the threat of Dengue, as well as preparing the public to fight against its spread.

At its peak, dengue claimed hundreds of lives in Pakistan alone, yet effective management from the government, and health agencies, both domestic and international, helped relatively control its advance. However, the drive to bring an end to this threat completely was abandoned, before more people could be educated about its origins, effects and methods of prevention.

As a result, a few days ago, four new cases of Dengue were found in Peshawar, while further investigation revealed that over ten other houses had been infected with the larvae of dengue carrying flies. Once again, Pakistanis will turn to the government to provide speedy relief to those already afflicted with this virus, and protect the ones that have been lucky enough to avoid it so far.

JAMEEL QAZI

Peshawar

Published in Daily Times, July 19^th 2018.