Daily Times

Arrival of the unforeseen monsoon season took the nation by surprise. Where it was thoroughly enjoyed, it also reached to a point of concern. Over 40mm of rain in Karachi was said to break records in August that created havoc. With the sewage system over flowing, isles on the road levelled up with stagnant water, litter and puddles everywhere; it was nothing but an uncalled-for chaos.

The most affected areas of Karachi are Gulshan Iqbal, North Karachi, Gulberg, Nazimabad, Saddar, Lines Area, Liaqatabad, Surjani and Lyari.

Unfortunately, this also gave rise to diseases like dengue and malaria because the stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

At least 186 new cases of dengue were reported in Karachi in the last 20 days. In addition, six innocent lives this year have lost the battle to dengue, out of which three were females. A shocking total of 1225 cases have been reported in Sindh year to date, of which, 1164 have been in Karachi alone.

Experts shed light on the symptoms of this life-threatening disease in the form of high fever, headache, severe pain in joints and muscles, and nausea.

The city is at risk and there needs to be a prevention plan to avoid the increasing risk and virility of Dengue. Preventive measures such as getting fumigation done in the neighbourhood, closing all open manholes and open stagnant water puddles are important for keeping our neighbourhoods free of dengue. Further, it is also important to ensure prevention of dengue within the house as well by closing windows after dusk, installing net across all windows/doors, wearing bright coloured and full sleeved clothing and most importantly, using good quality mosquito repellents like Mortein.

It’s better to be safe than sorry, if we work towards cleaning our own surroundings and taking proactive measures individually as well as collectively, we can control this epidemic!