KARACHI, Oct 19: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Karachi chapter, has urged the government to exempt all duties and taxes on the kits and reagent used in separating platelets from blood in order to bring down the VHF/dengue treatment cost.

Addressing a press conference at the PMA House on Wednesday evening, General Secretary of the PMA Karachi Dr Qaiser Sajjad pointed out that the diagnosis of dengue fever was being done only at private hospitals and the cost of the tests, i.e. Rs7,500, appeared unaffordable for the poor.

He said that it was very disgusting to note that in 60 years after the Independence, no lab for such tests could be established in the public sector in Karachi. At present, as many as 80 patients admitted to the government hospitals were waiting for the results of their tests being done at the NIH, Islamabad.

Dr Sajjad quoted official figure of more than 1,000 suspected VHF patients admitted to various hospitals since June 2006, and said that 278 of them had already been diagnosed dengue-positive while about two scores of them had died. As the incubation period of dengue fever is five to 15 days, a patient could be diagnosed dengue-positive anytime during this period.

He also pointed out that the official figures reflected the data received from just six-seven hospitals, but there were approximately 400 private hospitals and 6,000 clinics operating in the city which did not add their data to the statistics released by the government.

He said that dengue had emerged in early 90s in Pakistan but this time, it has spread in a severer form and happened to be widespread, and apprehended that in future, it could turn ever severer unless effective preventive measures were taken now.

He called for immediate establishment of at least four modern laboratories in Karachi, and stressed that research must be conducted on the causes of dengue spread. Ground and aerial spray to eliminate mosquitoes in the affected and vulnerable areas is of vital importance, he added.

Dr Sajjad said that cantonment boards and other authorities should also carry out fumigation in health and educational institutions, including hospitals, maternity homes and clinics, in their respective jurisdictions. He also urged school managements to allow their students to wear trousers and full sleeve shirts and get their schools fumigated.—PPI