PESHAWAR: Coordinated efforts by all line departments have led to drastic decline in Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded only 75 confirmed cases so far compared 1,516 cases during this period last year.

Experts attributed this downward trend in the mosquito-borne ailment to multi-sectoral approach adopted by all government departments under the district administrations in the province.

“The comparison of total dengue confirmed cases in 2022 and 2023 from January to August shows that we have controlled the disease. Last year from January to August, the total dengue positive cases were 1,516. In the current year, the count is 75,” they said.

The reduction in the number of dengue patients is due to the continuous efforts carried out at district level under the supervision of district health officers and role of medical entomologists across the province.

KP has recorded only 75 confirmed cases in current year

“However, we have to continue work as temperature level is still conducive for the production of mosquitoes, the transmitter of the virus. In the event of more rains, the people should pursue preventive measures to stay safe from the mosquito bites,” said health experts.

In addition to the efforts being carried out by line departments, public awareness regarding the causative agents of the vector-borne disease was risen as the disease had been endemic in the province since long, they said.

They said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been detecting dengue cases since 2008. They said that many areas witnessed violent outbreaks of the disease that also caused mortalities as it killed more than 70 people and infected 25,000 others in 2017. Peshawar was the epicentre of the disease as it recorded 60 mortalities. Few cases were diagnosed in 2018 and the disease continued to decline except in 2022 when it killed 18 people in the province.

Officials in health department told Dawn that people had been experiencing dengue fever for the past few years due to which they were now cooperating with the health workers regarding its prevention.

“This year, we have started work on Dengue Action Plan 2023 in January, which is the main factor of fewer cases and no death so far,” they said.

Peshawar, which used to record the highest number of cases every year, mostly from same localities, is no longer a hotspot of the virus because people are listening to health workers, who are carrying out house-to-house visits to prevail upon the inmates against storage of water in uncovered pots due to which the production of mosquitoes has declined.

“Every day, meeting of the district committees take place under the respective deputy commissioners where issues are discussed and action is taken. In case of finding standing water in communities, our staffers approach the people as well as the relevant department to sprinkle insecticidal spray to eliminate larvae,” said officials.

They said that if a dengue case was reported in any locality, the officials of health department swung into action and respond to the situation by taking samples from the people in the same area along with holding awareness sessions with them to save the population from outbreaks.

Officials said that the main cause of mosquitoes-breeding existed inside houses because people didn’t change water in air-coolers that led to increase in population of mosquitoes. “But given the years of our campaigns, now the people have started realising that the disease is preventable,” they added.

They said that health department also learned lessons due to which the challenges were faced effectively. Earlier, the community’s response to do away with storage of water in uncovered utensils or eliminate standing water pools was pathetic but now the situation has gone a sea change regarding public awareness due to which dengue cases have been reduced.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2023