HYDERABAD/MITHI: With six more patients testing positive for chikungunya, the total number of such cases in the desert district of Tharparkar reached 84, Sindh health authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

The test results of blood samples of six patients arrived on Tuesday from the National Institute of Health (NIH).

A donor-funded team of the field emergency laboratory testing programme (FELTP) would be reaching Tharparkar on Wednesday (today) to monitor the situation, said director general (health services) Dr Akhlaq Khan.

Health experts, who had visited Tharparkar, were optimistic that the outbreak would be controlled soon like it was in April when it was first reported.

“We will control it soon and it is the community health education that is needed now,” said Dr Khan while talking to Dawn.

He claimed that the community was being educated about how to cover potable water stored in reservoirs.

“The Purpose of FELTP is to educate the community and monitor the situation. It includes health experts from Hyderabad and Karachi who will be reaching Tharparkar probably on Wednesday.”

He said suspected chikungunya cases were reported in April in Tharparkar and not in January as claimed by an official of the dengue control programme.

The first patient had travel history of Karachi. “Not only that, but most of the patients had history of stay in Karachi as many residents of Tharparkar serve in the provincial capital as domestic workers,” he said.

He said that larvaecidal activity could be ensured in the stagnant water but not in clean drinking water.

“We will be advising communities in 17 villages to cover their storage tanks properly,” he said, adding that chikungunya vector had a four-week life cycle and that could be eliminated when it was a larva.

The health services DG said that the FELTP team in collaboration with the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) — which supports countries globally in this regard — would work with lady health visitors to guide women in the community about preventive measures to contain the disease’s outbreak in the district.

Dr Shaikh of the dengue control programme dispelled the impression that it was a major outbreak, saying blood samples only in those cases were obtained in which patient complained of severe joint pain. “Otherwise, patients with normal fever are treated accordingly.”

He said that the government had distributed 50,000 nets in Tharparkar.

He agreed that the rainwater for people of Thar was very precious, so there was a need to take precautions in their own interest.

People urged to take precautionary steps

Sindh Health Minister Dr Sikander Ali Mandhro on Tuesday reached Thar and presided over a meeting at the office of the deputy commissioner in Mithi to review the situation against the backdrop of the chikungunya outbreak in the desert district after the recent rainfall.

Dr Mandhro was of the view that the Sindh government was adopting the same methods being used in other countries to treat the patients of viral infections.

He said that since it was not a life-threatening virus there was a dire need to create awareness among the people to adopt preventive measures to save themselves from the infection.

He directed the health officials to ensure the attendance of doctors and paramedics in the health units of the district so that people infected with viral diseases would not face any hardships in getting proper treatment in their respective areas.

Dr Mandhro warned the health staff in Thar to either perform their duties honestly or be ready for stern actions.

“No doctor should force patients to purchase medicines from private medical stores,” he said, adding that the Sindh government had allocated enough budget for the health department in Thar.

He said that situation in government hospitals were fast improving.

He said that the Sindh government would recruit 5,000 doctors purely on a merit basis so that maximum facilities could be provided to the people of the province.

The minister was briefed that the teams of doctors were busy round the clock to treat the patients in the villages from where chikungunya cases were being reported.

Thar Deputy Commissioner Dr Abdul Hafeez Siyal, PPP Senator Gayanchand and other leaders and government officials were present.

The health minister also visited the Civil Hospital Mithi and taluka hospital in Chhachhro.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2017