The number of Dengue fever patients is continuously increasing in the city, as nine, out of the 32 suspected cases reported during the last 24 hours, have been confirmed as Dengue patients, sources told Business Recorder on Saturday.
According to sources, while six cases were reported in Liaquat National Hospital, eight in Jinnah Post-Graduate Medical Centre, four in Civil Hospital, one in Aga Khan Hospital, nine in Ziauddin Hospital, three in Ashfaq Memorial Hospital, four in Bismillah Taqee Institute and six in different private hospitals. According to data, collected from different hospitals of the city, a total of 983 suspected cases of Dengue fever have been reported.
Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) General Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjad told Business Recorder that despite the efforts of the Federal, provincial and city governments, the disease had not been wiped out from the metropolis. He said that reports about Dengue deaths were reported almost every day, which was a matter of great concern for the Sindh health authorities.
He pointed out that according to the laboratory reports of the Aga Khan University (AKU) Hospital, Dengue virus, found in Karachi and other parts of the country, was of Sero-type 3. He said that this virus changed its shape, and it was feared that next year it might become Sero-type 4 virus, which was more deadly.
He said that a patient, suffering from Sero-type, showed symptoms of acute headache and body ache and high-degree fever, but the patient of Sero-type 4 virus directly faced a "Dengue shock", which meant that he would go immediately unconscious, increasing chances of fatal complexities.
Dr Sajjad added that no Dengue-prevention drive could succeed without active community participation. He said that the government had miserably failed to motivate citizens to take preventive steps at their homes and workplaces.
He said that the government could only carry out sprays in streets and localities, but killing mosquitoes inside homes, workplaces and other premises was a gigantic task, which could only be achieved by motivating and mobilising every citizen, including man and woman, child and elderly persons.
He felt that media was not being properly utilised to create this type of mass awareness. He warned that if anti-Dengue measures were not taken on this scale, then next year "we have to face this problem in a grimmer shape."
He said that the government should set up an anti-Dengue task force, comprising officials of the health departments of the Federal, provincial, city and district governments, healthcare experts, entomologists, professors of infectious diseases, chemical experts, teachers, media, prayer leaders, as well as, all other stakeholders, including communities to wage a war against the Dengue.
He regretted that only three private hospitals in Karachi, including the Aga Khan University Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital and Ziauddin Hospital were carrying out platelets separation of blood, while all other hospitals, including the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) had no facility for their patients.
He said that this test cost around Rs 7,500-8,000, and it was beyond the reach of the common man in Pakistan where the minimum wage is just Rs 4,000 per month. He demanded of all state-run hospitals, including the JPMC and CHK, to provide free blood platelet service to their patients.
He regretted that Karachi, the biggest city of Pakistan and seventh largest of the world had no modern and sophisticated pathological laboratory in the state-run hospitals, which could detect all types of viruses. Dr Qaiser said that still such samples of blood were being sent to Islamabad for laboratory tests.
Director of Bismillah Taqee Institute of Blood Diseases, talking to Business Recorder, said that there were four types of Dengue fever and if those persons, who were infected last year by one of its type, had higher chances to get infected again.
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