KARACHI, July 23: Doctors at a private teaching university on health sciences have warned that Karachi may see the outbreak of the mosquito-borne dengue fever this year as well.
Fearing that dengue infection might continue as an annual threat in Pakistan, they underlined the need for running special campaigns to educate the masses about the preventive measures, besides making concerted efforts for the management of the epidemic.
The dengue epidemic outbreak, which prevailed for about six months last year in the city, affected about 4,750 people and claimed about 50 lives. In addition to what the patients had paid for their treatment last year, the provincial and city governments also bore the cost of blood tests of suspected dengue patients and cost of platelets which according to an estimate came to around Rs7 million.
Two dengue fever cases were reported at a private city hospital in February this year. Another 30 cases with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever were brought to a hospital in June. Nine of them were tested positive for dengue fever while one of them died.
Addressing a seminar on the management of medical problems faced by primary health care physicians and specialists, organised by the Aga Khan University Hospital, the doctors stressed that the health department, physicians and specialists should get prepared for the possible outbreak of viral haemorrhagic fever and dengue diseases.
Following the last year rains, all the hospitals in the city were full to their capacity and the staff started refusing patients for the shortage of beds. The epidemic created panic as the available health resources were unable to match the influx of patients.
AKUH Emergency Medicine Section Head Dr Junaid Razzak stressed the need for developing capacity against any extensive surge in dengue fever patients.
Referring to some misconceptions among people, he said dengue was quite a benign disease with less than five per cent mortality rate. “It is a misperception that any patient infected with dengue is likely to die,” he said while rejecting other misconceptions and said the cause of death was actually dehydration and not bleeding, as commonly believed.
A dengue patient could be treated as at the out-patient department and hospital admission was not required in every case, he maintained.
Microbiology Section Head Dr Afia Zafar said a dengue patient did not need to be isolated or quarantined. The infection did not spread from one person to another, she said, adding that the patient should be protected against mosquitoes until the fever subsided.
Dr Anita Zaidi, a paediatric infectious diseases specialist, said dengue was recognised as a major health concern and efforts were underway to invent some vaccine for it.
She said no vaccine was currently available but a breakthrough was expected in the next five years as some vaccines were undergoing clinical trials.
Tracing the history of the epidemic, Dr Bushra Jamil said the first confirmed outbreak of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever in Pakistan was reported in 1994. Since then, the condition was diagnosed sporadically till the year 2006, when Karachi and neighboring areas of the Sindh province witnessed a major outbreak of dengue fever, she added.
Dr Omrana Pasha of the community health sciences and family medicine held the VHF and DF a largely urban phenomenon. Unprecedented growth in urban areas without adequate infrastructure was contributing to the factors responsible for dengue outbreak, she said.
She cautioned the public to prevent themselves from mosquito bites by wearing appropriate dresses, using repellents and insecticides and avoid collection of water even small puddles.
She said Aedes aegypti mosquito bites during the day, lives indoors in domestic settings and breeds in both clean and polluted water. While adult mosquito is destroyed in 38 degrees centigrade, the eggs can withstand desiccation and can hatch even the next year when the conditions are conducive.
