KARACHI, Nov 3: The numbers of suspected viral haemorrhagic fever cases swelled to 2,243 in the city on Friday, as another 108 patients believed to be inflicted with mosquito-borne diseases were rushed to various government and private hospitals.
Of the patients documented as VHF or dengue fever cases by about 20 city hospitals during the last four and a half months, 743 have been tested positive for dengue fever.
However, the government is still gearing up for an effective fogging drive against aedes aegypti, the disease transmitting mosquitoes, usually breed in clean water collection and bite during the day time, said health circles.
In the meantime, amidst demands from various quarters for stepping up public awareness through different mechanisms about dengue fever and public education on mosquito breeding sites, the executive district officer (education) on Friday urged all the district education officers to educate schoolchildren on the importance of preventive measures against dengue.
In a communication, the EDO Fakhar Karim Siddiqui, informed the district officers that dengue viral fever was spreading very fast, particularly in the urban areas, which required due care and as such they should advise the head teachers of the school to tell the children in school assemblies about preventive measures against the disease. The students could be asked to report any case of dengue fever to hospital for treatment on priority basis, the EDO added.
She further advised the officials to ensure that fumigation had been carried out at schools and in the adjoining areas. In case the area adjoining a school had not received the insecticide spray, the same may be conducted on an emergency basis through contacting the union council and town officers concerned, she said, adding that efforts should also be made for removal of garbage lying in the vicinity.
On the other hand, about the ongoing fumigation or fogging activities in the city, an expert said that the plan for vector control had no scientific background, while no technical expertise had been associated with the fumigation operation.
The officials of the health department are doctors but they are neither insect specialist nor possess sound knowledge of insects’ habitats, information about the pesticides and as such are finding it difficult to employ chemical and biological measures to kill the mosquitoes, a source said.
An outbreak of dengue fever in Karachi has caused deaths of 28 people, including children and women, while three out of 25 patients admitted to hospitals for VHF or dengue fever have died so far in the interior of Sindh. The percentage of dengue positive cases in Karachi on Friday remained 33.12, while the death percentage of the patients admitted to hospitals came as 1.25.
Giving details of entries in hospitals during the past 24 hours ending at 2pm, the focal person of the Dengue Fever Cell (DFC) of the Sindh health department, Dr Abdul Majid, told Dawn that 88 new patients were brought to 13 hospitals, excluding the Aga Khan University Hospital from where the information could not be received on time.
Dr Majid said that a maximum of 19 patients each at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre were admitted fresh, while each of the Civil Hospital Karachi and Darul Shafa Hospital discharged 12 patients on Friday.
According to the DFC data, the number of positive- dengue fever patients in Sindh has surged to 733 since June this year, with 31 registered deaths and about 2,250 suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever.
In the meantime, when contacted in the evening, an executive at the AKUH told Dawn that as many as 20 patients suspected of the VHF were admitted to the hospital during the past 24 hours. Including the fresh arrivals, there were 53 in-house patients at the AKU on Friday, the officer added and informed further that the patients tested positive for dengue at the AKUH was 196.
The position of patients’ entry at city hospitals on Friday remained as: Liaquat National Hospital-47 (8 new cases), Civil Hospital Karachi-6 (2 new), Dr Ziauddin Hospital-41 (14 new), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre-57 (19 new), Abbasi Shaheed Hospital-19(5 new), Bismillah Taqee Hospital-20 (10 new), National Institute of Child Health-9 (3 new), Zainul Abedein-2(1 new), Patel Hospital-7(2 new), Chiniot Hospital-20(4 new), Karachi Adventist Hospital-9 (3 new), Zainab Punjwani Hospital-2 (2 new), Hamid Hopsital-1 (1 new), Darul Shafa-8 (no new case) and Baqai Hospital-16 (no new case).
Health circles say that many hospitals do not pass on the details to the DFC, otherwise the number VHF cases might have increased significantly.
