KARACHI: The provincial health department will target educational institutions and hospitals to safeguard them from the looming danger of the mosquito-borne disease dengue which has already infected 200 people in the metropolis, officials said on Thursday.

“Schools and colleges and hospitals are a priority and must be safe from dengue, which would be part of a city-wide campaign to be launched in the coming weeks,” said a senior official.

Officials in the Sindh health department said they had recorded a total of 200 cases in Karachi’s six districts and feared that the coming summer could be lethal to victims of the disease, which, as normally suspected, attacks more people every three years.

“Dengue infected 6,000 people in Sindh in 2013 of which more than 5,000 belonged to Karachi. Its three-year cycle is coming this year which could result in perilous figures for us if we fail to pre-empt it,” said a senior official.

With the provincial dengue prevention and control programme already in shambles, and being denied the funds allocated for it, officials said they were powerless and could do nothing much expect adopt a few cosmetic measures which were being dictated from the top.

“Even the employees of the project are waiting for their salaries and contractors are crying for clearance of their bills for the medicines they loaned for many months,” said another official.

There were 11 recorded deaths because of dengue last year, and danger looms despite a supposedly lean season because of winter. The project’s stocks including dengue diagnostic kits, mega units etc. have also long been exhausted, it is learnt.

Sources in the provincial health ministry admitted that the programme had been given short shrift for the past two years despite the fact that many lives were lost and thousands contracted the disease.

Meanwhile, Sindh health minister Jam Mehtab Dahar claimed in a meeting that his department had taken ‘concrete steps’ to curb the spread of dengue.

He said a mass awareness campaign would also be launched. The minister asked the program manager to coordinate with other stakeholders to make the drive a success.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2016