The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) on Thursday decided to provide free laboratory tests for dengue virus in its hospitals and laboratories.
EDO Health CDGK Dr A D Sanjani addressing a press conference at the Civic Centre here on Thursday said that four blood sample collection centres were being established by the CDGK in various parts of the city. He said that the sample of patients' blood would be collected at these centres and sent to laboratories of the CDGK for free testing.
He said that on instructions of the City Nazim orders were issued to import laboratory kits for dengue virus, and this process would continue till the end of disease. He said that a kit costing Rs 14,000 could cater needs of 25 patients. He said that the city government would conduct these tests free of cost, while it would also pay 50 percent costs of laboratory tests of dengue patients in private hospitals.
He said that a fumigation drive in the city had been restarted. He said that cases of dengue fever were decreasing. He said that the CDGK controls only 34 percent area of Karachi while the rest was controlled by other departments and institutions. He suggested that these departments and institutions should also carry out fumigation drives in their respective areas to control the disease.
EDO Health said the dengue mosquito breeds in clean water inside containers and pots. He said that cleanliness and spray inside houses would greatly help to destroy these mosquitoes and control the disease.
He said that due to high-rise building in Karachi aerial spray could not provide desired results, adding that aerial spray over outskirts and mangrove forests in coastal areas could prove beneficial. He said that till now about 1,000 cases had been registered but now their number was slowly decreasing.