The federal government has miserably failed to make adequate arrangements for dengue fever patients and check the spread of the disease in twin cities where the cases are increasing gradually.
Well-placed sources told Business Recorder on Saturday that within the last two weeks, more than 10 patients have been tested positive for dengue fever and all of them belonged to Rawalpindi, while a new case of dengue virus has been diagnosed at Pims and admitted on last Friday. The patient belonged to an urban area of the city.
"The patient is not in worse condition...he is stable and is not bleeding which is considered to be the worst condition of the fever. The temperature of the patient is also under control: less than 99 degree Fahrenheit. Some days ago, a patient was discharged after recovery. At the time of admission he was in a critical condition, having nasal bleeding and low platelet counts. He has recovered and discharged," sources said.
They acknowledged that three suspected dengue patients have recently been admitted to the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital in Rawalpindi. Punjab Health Department has released a report, which shows that 1,346 dengue patients have been recovered so far in the provincial capital. It said that 33 cases of dengue patients have been reported during the last 24 hours. 12 patients are under treatment at Mayo Hospital, which includes one patient from Muzaffargarh, seven patients from Lahore General Hospital and 14 in Services Hospital.
Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is a more severe form of the viral illness. The symptoms of the fever include headache, fever, rash, and evidence of haemorrhage in the body. Also, bleeding in the nose or gums, black stools, are all possible signs of fever. The dengue fever usually continues for two to seven days while in moderate dengue-haemorrhage-fever cases, all signs and symptoms abate after the fever subsides.
Sources informed that the mosquitoes breed primarily in man-made containers like earthenware jars, metal drums and concrete cisterns used for domestic water storage, as well as discarded plastic food containers, used automobile tyres and other items that collect rainwater. Dengue is transmitted to humans by a specific kind of mosquito called Aedes aegypti.
Supportive therapy is the only weapon used as a treatment for the disease as the patients are asked to take oral intakes, especially liquids in order to maintain the level of bodily fluids against the rapid wastage of blood and other fluids.
Sources said that to avoid dengue fever, active monitoring and surveillance of natural mosquito is necessary during these days to check on spread of the dengue virus. Also, there should be proper solid waste disposal and improved water storage practices, including covering containers to prevent access to egg laying female mosquitoes.
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