Daily Times

LAHORE: Banners and flex posters inscribed with dengue warnings have been a common scene in Lahore for the last six years. It seems the dengue virus is in the air. Ali was diagnosed with dengue fever three weeks ago in a Lahore hospital amid government claims that this rainy season had not caused any dengue outbreak in the city.

The hospital where Ali is admitted to has more than a dozen patients there, mostly from the spacious areas like Defence Housing Authority. Health is a blessing and a clean environment guarantees a good health, including no-dengue virus. “The government should take notice of the dengue outbreak and introduce such a system that water does not accumulate anywhere,” said Jahanzaib Gondal, another patient admitted to the hospital for dengue treatment for over 10 days. Doctors said he would be discharged soon as he was recovering very fast.

“The rainy season used to be a blessing but due to pollution and bad sanitary conditions, this blessing has turned into a season of dengue season,” said Umer Malik. Dengue virus is a mosquito-borne fever and the mosquito Aedes, responsible for the virus, is born in clean water. “Rainwater should be drained quickly so that the mosquitoes are not generated,” says Ambreen, who suffered dengue fever three years ago.

Abdullah suggested spray well before the start of the rainy season as a precaution. “Lots of water always gathers in my area whenever it rains, and it creates difficulties for me and also a breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes,” said Murtaza. He said the situation has been the same for so many years, and every year, he fears that he would be a dengue victim too.

He blamed the people for bad sanitation conditions, for they dump their solid waste on the street. The dengue ward of the hospital had many patients from DHA where dengue spreads because of lots of open space. People expect that the dengue virus will be eradicated this year.