The second spike of mosquito transmitted dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever is the direct outcome of the combined negligence of public health institutions and municipal bodies as well as local governments.
Poor sanitation facilities in thickly populated areas invite mosquito breeding, resulting in malaria and dengue outbreaks. Dengue fever infects more than 50 million people, most of them children, world-wide annually during or after monsoon, mainly in the populous cities of tropical areas. In this part of the world, India was the first victim of this disease where 10,000 people got infected and 80 died so far.
The second wave of dengue fever in Pakistan came in Karachi in October this year, where, according to official statistics, the number of people with dengue infection crossed 500 by the end of the same month. However, press reports put this number much higher.
Keeping in mind the aggravating situation in Karachi, the administration of other cities should have taken appropriate measures to cope with possible Karachi-like situation but nothing was done and the disease spread in various other cities of interior of Sindh and Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar in north.
Although dengue does occur in only tropical areas, the passengers carrying dengue virus, probably, helped bring this disease to cities like Islamabad and Peshawar.
The performance of federal and provincial governments remained confined to Press statements claiming that free testing facilities have been provided in all cities and fumigation campaigns are being started to stop mosquito breeding etc. The ground realities, however, suggest otherwise.
There are complaints in Karachi and other cities that Rs 700 to 800 are being charged from a patient to carry out blood tests in public sector hospitals. It is very much unfortunate that people in power corridors don't think beyond federal capital that's why there seems no precautionary measures or preparation to face the possible outbreak of this deadly disease in the cities, where dengue cases have not yet been reported, like Lahore.
Moreover, the excessive and irrational use of antibiotics and antiviral medicines in Pakistan has made the viruses and bacteria more resistant against medicines and diseases like dengue have turned into epidemics.
Answering a question as how do humans get infected from dengue, doctors say dengue virus is transmitted in the human body when a particular type of infected mosquito bites someone. The similar type of uninfected mosquitoes when bites an infected human, they get infected and transmit the virus to other humans.
Answering another question are all kinds of mosquitoes able to transmit dengue virus, they said only two species of mosquito, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, have been responsible for all cases of dengue transmitted. Aedes mosquitoes are relatively big black mosquitoes with white spots on their body.
They are found mainly in homes and live in clean water. They prefer to suck human blood as their food. One can get dengue virus infection from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite infected humans, and later transmit infection to other people they bite. An infected person can transmit the virus to mosquitoes within 3-4 days of being bitten and can continue to do so up to 12 days.
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