KARACHI: Public and private sector hospitals in Karachi have been receiving a growing number of high-grade fever cases on a daily basis and many of them are positive for dengue fever, it emerged Tuesday.
According to official data, in October alone more than 1,100 cases of dengue were reported in the metropolis.
According to media reports, dozens of residents in Block F in northern Nazimabad have become ill "due to dengue, including many students of local mothers."
An investigation involving area residents and government officials showed that the authorities considered the neighborhood to be a dengue point and that patients had been reporting in different hospitals: Liaquat National Hospital, Jinnah Graduate Medical Center, the Ziauddin Hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. – with complaints of high fever in the last week or so.
"Northern Nazimabad is a point of access to dengue along with Garden East, Union Council 4 of Metroville, Clifton Cantonment Board and Soldier Bazaar," said Dr. Abdul Basit of the Sindh Dengue Control Program.
He said the department received data from hospitals and carried out fumigation in affected houses located in areas where a case group was reported.
“Routine spraying is the responsibility of the Metropolitan Corporation of Karachi and the respective municipal corporations of the district. People can contact us at our helpline number (0313-2597585), ”he said when asked why fumigation was not launched before the monsoon, which could have restricted the magnitude of the outbreak.
More than 1,100 cases of dengue
According to data collected so far by the department, on Tuesday 115 cases of dengue were reported in Karachi, while eight in the rest of the Sindh districts.
It is estimated that 4,403 cases of dengue have been reported in Sindh this year, of which 4,151 were reported in Karachi. The mosquito-borne disease has claimed the lives of 15 people this year.
In October, 1,186 cases were reported, of which 1,105 in Karachi.
When asked about media reports about the dengue outbreak in northern Nazimabad, JPMC executive director Dr. Seemin Jamali said the hospital was receiving a growing number of high-grade fever cases in these days. However, only those patients who required emergency care were admitted.
“The diagnosis takes some time. What we can say for sure at this time is that the hospital is receiving a large number of cases of high-grade fever that could be due to different infections (including malaria, typhoid fever), "he said.
The JMPC had received 150 cases of dengue in the last two and a half months, he added.
In his opinion, the main reason behind the high number of dengue cases this year was the lack of a fumigation campaign in the city.
PMA concern
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (WFP) has expressed concern about the increase in dengue cases in the country.
“There have been reports of dengue virus confirmed in thousands in the four provinces. The situation is very alarming and we had already warned the authorities to take preventive measures to control dengue.
"The government should immediately start campaigns against the spraying of mosquitoes in case of emergency throughout Pakistan because the disease can only be prevented by eliminating mosquitoes." There is no vaccine or specific treatment to combat this disease, ”said a PMA press release.
People should know that dengue symptoms may include high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pain.
“It can also be associated with a characteristic skin rash. In the worst conditions, there could be bleeding from the gums, nose, mouth, ears and other parts of the body. In the last stages, the patient goes into shock, which is called dengue hemorrhagic shock, ”he said.
Posted on Dawn, October 9, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1509757/dengue-outbreak-feared-as-over-1100-test-positive-in-karachi-in-8-days