KARACHI, Nov 4: The mosquito carrying dengue virus remains active in hot weather and its larvae cannot survive low temperatures. As such, the number of dengue fever cases may show a considerable decline in coming months when the mercury will drop sharply.

This was stated by Dr Qaiser Sajjad, Secretary General of the Pakistan Medical Association, Karachi chapter, during a walk against dengue haemorrhagic fever at the Mazar-i-Quaid here on Saturday.

He said the dengue cases would surely decline with weather turning cooler, but the drive against viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), including dengue, must be kept in top gear during the winter in order to make Karachi a dengue-free city.

He warned that if aggressive preventive measures were not taken, this mosquito would somehow manage to survive and strike the city next summer, especially after monsoon rains.

The Secretary General of PMA said that the drive would also help check malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases.

He reiterated Pakistan Medical Association’s stance that there should be a combined body having representation from the federal, provincial and local governments to tackle the dengue outbreak issue.

Dr Qaiser Sajjad said that experts of infectious diseases, professors of community medicines, chemical experts, entomologists and other stakeholders should also be given representation in such a body so that a unified, comprehensive and long-term strategy against VHF could be chalked out.

The walk was organised by the Pakistan Medical Association, Karachi, in collaboration with the Infectious Diseases Society of Pakistan (IDS-P), the College of Family Medicine, and various hospitals and medical organisations.

A large number of people participated in the walk, from the main gate of the Mazar-i-Quaid to Numaish Chowrangi.

The theme of the walk was ‘Clean Karachi, Control Dengue’.

Additional Secretary Health, Sindh, Dr Capt Majid, World Health Organisation representative Dr Abdul Wahid, Pakistan Medical Association Karachi chief Dr Nisar Baloch, IDS-Pakistan President Dr Naseem Salahuddin, AKUH’s Dr Rehana, besides Dr Qaiser Sajjad, were among those who spoke on the occasion.—PPI