Daily Times

Dengue outbreak persists in Karachi as death toll has risen to 31 with two more deaths, while the total number of virus-infected patients has exceeded 10,500.

According to details, two more children died due to dengue virus. Three-year-old Taimoor and three-month-old Musa passed away at the National Institutes of Health.

Medical experts have expressed concern over growing cases and deaths from dengue, saying that citizens have to take precautionary measures to prevent dengue virus.

According to the data released by the Director-General (DG) Health,Sindh, Dr Masood Solangi, all the administration of the government hospitals have also been provided dengue diagnostic kits.

On Nov 4, two more dengue-infected patients lost their lives as the virus epidemic stays on the rise due to the provincial government’s negligence in Karachi. 55-year-old Zahida Kausar, a resident of Liaquatabad, was being treated at a private hospital but succumbed to the dengue virus whereas a seven-month-old baby died at a private hospital in the Federal B. Area Al-Anwar Society.

Talking on the dengue-related deaths, Health Minister Sindh expressed that the anti-dengue spray should have been used prior to the rains and citizens should be careful now.

In Karachi, 188 new cases were reported in last 24 hours, while this year, 28 people have passed away owing to dengue virus. 515 dengue-affected people visited hospitals during the first three days of November, while so far 9,451 people have fallen victim to the dengue epidemic.

The situation is getting out of control, but no steps are being taken by the Sindh government and the civil administration to end the dengue.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) directed the provincial chief secretary to appear in the next hearing over rising cases of dengue virus across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The high court heard a petition related to the anti-dengue measures by the provincial authorities over outspread of the mosquito-borne disease.

During the hearing, the KP’s Health director-general apprised PHC that 6,803 dengue cases have been reported in KP and 6,721 affected people were discharged from the hospitals after medical treatment. The health officer continued that 82 patients are currently under treatment in different hospitals.

Justice Qaiser Rashid questioned for the steps being taken by the provincial authorities to reduce the number of dengue cases next year.

To this, DG Health answered that the coming year is more dangerous for the disease and the government is taking anti-dengue measures in advance.

Justice Rashid remarked that the measures are necessary to be taken by the provincial government. The PHC judge directed KP’s chief secretary to appear before the court and adjourned the hearing till November 14.

It may be mentioned here that a new report from the national dengue monitoring body shows that 447 new dengue cases were recorded in November, raising the year’s tally to 45,343.

The most cases have been reported from Islamabad, where 12,663 people have been affected by the viral infection and 22 people have died, a private television channel reported Thursday.

An official of the Emergency Operations Centre in Islamabad said this is because an unprecedented effort is underway to actively search for cases at all public and private hospitals. Including the cases reported from Islamabad, 22,063 have been reported across Punjab this year.

Sindh has been the second worst affected province with 10,553 cases and 28 deaths so far. Karachi has recorded more than 9,000 cases and districts Central, East and South have been identified as dengue hot spots in the city.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its tribal districts have seen 7,447 dengue cases but no deaths have been reported. The most cases have been reported from Peshawar, Swabi and Swat.

There have been 3,062 dengue cases in Balochistan and three people died of the disease. Around 1,676 cases have also been reported from the high altitude areas of Azad Kashmir and one person has died.

This year, a total of 70 people have died of the dengue fever across Pakistan. The National Institute of Health says Punjab is providing free of charge diagnostic and clinical management services to dengue patients at government hospitals across the province. Almost 9,228 patients have fully recovered. In Sindh, over 10,000 dengue patients have been successfully treated across the province. The Dengue Control Programme is also providing bed nets for all new patients.

A total of 90 patients are currently admitted at different hospitals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including 21 in Peshawar, while over 6,665 patients have fully recovered in the province. In Balochistan’s District Kech, the health department distributed 100,000 bed nets during October.

A total of 639 patients were admitted to different hospitals in Azad Kashmir, of which 629 fully recovered and 10 are still admitted. The Emergency Operations Centre at the NIH was activated on September 16 to monitor the dengue outbreak and give daily reports to the federal and provincial health departments.