ISLAMABAD: The Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza, said Tuesday that more than 11,783 cases of dengue had been reported across the country.
"However, up to 95 percent of cases in Sindh were reported from Karachi and 84 percent of cases in Punjab from Rawalpindi," he told a news conference.
"This shows that both areas have become hot spots and efforts are being made to eradicate the mosquito and larvae through fumigation."
More than 11,700 cases reported throughout the country
He said that 2,827 cases of Punjab, 2,474 of Sindh, 2,260 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,046 of Islamabad and 1,780 of Balochistan were reported; Other cases were reported by Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Dr. Mirza said that political parties should stop scoring on the issue, as more cases were reported in the past, compared to the current year. "In some countries, tens of thousands of cases are reported," he said.
Referring to Islamabad, he said that special dengue outpatient departments would remain open at the 8 a.m. Polyclinic hospital. at 12 a.m., while at the Federal General Hospital, from 8 a.m. at 8 p.m. Doctors and staff have been assigned separately, he added.
According to Dr. Mirza, until September 23, the Health Services Directorate of the Capital Development Authority in Islamabad had carried out 71 larvicides, 344 spray sessions and 292 fogging activities.
"There are 1,000 additional beds available in private hospitals at no cost, but we have not used them to date," he said. "The right medications are available for free at the main government hospitals, while free trial facilities are also available."
He also said that the Dengue Control and Operations Cell was working 24 hours a day and could be contacted at 051-9216890, 051-9212601.
Dr. Mirza said he visited every hospital in the federal capital on a daily basis and also made sure that the spraying was done in areas where cases were reported.
Polyclinic media coordinator, Dr. Sharif Astori, said that to date, up to 577 patients suffering from dengue had been taken to the hospital and 87 were admitted overnight.
Posted in Dawn, September 25, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1507211/karachi-rawalpindi-hit-badly-by-dengue-cases-pms-adviser