Daily Times

The dengue virus has killed at least seven people in Karachi, Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Tuesday.

Despite rescue operations underway in flood-hit areas, there are many locations where people are still trapped in water and suffering from dengue and other vector-borne and water diseases. In Sindh alone, the death toll from the floods and rains has reached 638, Memon told a press conference on Tuesday. Sindh remains the worst-hit province receiving 466% more rain than average in this year’s monsoon.

In Islamabad, 75 cases of dengue virus were reported on Tuesday, taking the total number of confirmed infections to 734, the Ministry of National Health Services said.

According to the statistics issued by the District Health Office (DHO) of Islamabad, some 75 infections were reported, hinting that one of the most severe outbreaks of the disease in the region is on the cards.

Meanwhile, the DHO stated the dengue virus also claimed one life in the capital during the same period. The deceased was a resident of Tarlai, the office added. Following the detection of 750 cases, the total number of confirmed infections has reached 743, the DHO added.

Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman has indicated at least a 50% surge in the cases of dengue fever after the recent monsoon rains in the country, especially in Karachi where hundreds of dengue patients are being admitted to hospitals on a daily basis. The minister warned that more expected rains could be detrimental to the relief and rehabilitation process going on in the flood-hit areas.

Rehman expressed these views at a press conference in Islamabad, where she also spoke about the worsening situation in Sindh due to outbreak of water and vector-borne diseases.

Speaking of the flood situation at rivers, she said that the Indus River at the Kotri Barrage was at high flood level with an inflow of more than 600,000 cusecs of water, posing a serious threat to the surrounding areas.

“It is unfortunate that all over social media and other public platforms, the opposition is actively exhorting all international supporters to not give aid or support via anyone but their own PTI sources. Such active promotion of public disunity in Pakistan’s worse hour of crisis is a shocking expose of the thinking behind the divisive politics being promoted,” she deplored.

Discussing the looming health crisis in the flooded areas, the climate change minister said floods had brought the menace of water and vector-borne diseases such as dengue and cholera. “Karachi is seeing an outbreak of dengue while 584,246 people are in camps throughout the country; a health crisis could wreak havoc if it goes unchecked,” she said. Referring to a recent statement by Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, she said clearing the water in Sindh might take three to six months, adding that the Manchar Lake had been overflowing since early September, causing inundation of several hundred villages where more than 100,000 people were affected and had been asked to evacuate. “We are expediting our efforts to provide medicines and medics to the 81 calamity-hit districts. However, these are still very initial estimates as new data is coming forth,” she added.