KARACHI, Oct 2: One more person died at a private hospital during the last 24 hours ending at 3pm on Tuesday, bringing the number of dengue-related fatalities to five in the city in the last few weeks.
According to an official of the Sindh health department, the latest victim of dengue fever was Jawed Ahmed, a 22-year-old man from Malir.
Liaquat National Hospital has informed the Dengue Reporting Cell that the deceased was brought there about three days ago and died on Monday, the official added, saying that the patient had developed hemorrhagic fever causing massive bleeding as well as some other complications.
According to information gathered by the health department, Tuesday’s death was the third at Liaquat National Hospital in as many weeks, while one other patient died at the Aga Khan University Hospital about two weeks ago. All the deceased were tested positive for dengue fever.
The wife of a doctor who had also tested positive for dengue died at another private hospital about 10 days back. However, the hospital had not reported the death to the health department so far, it was learnt.
According to a coordinator of the Sindh health department’s Dengue Reporting Cell, about 450 patients suspected of suffering from viral hemorrhagic fever have been treated at various public and private hospitals since August; about 200 of them have been tested positive for dengue fever.
As many as 13 new patients with dengue fever were admitted to eight hospitals during the last 24 hours ending at 3pm on Tuesday.
Despite the fact that some of the patients -- admitted earlier -- suspected of suffering from viral hemorrhagic fever or dengue fever were discharged during the period, the number of admitted patients still remained 85 at nine hospitals, including the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, with 33 in-house patients. The JPMC received two new patients during the last 24 hours.
The breakdown of dengue patients still admitted to different hospitals, as reported to the dengue reporting cell, was as follows on Tuesday:
Liaquat National Hospital, 17, Ziauddin Hospital, 15, JPMC, 33, Aga Khan Hospital, 4, Bismillah Taqee Hospital, 9, Baqai Hospital, 2, OMI Hospital, 3, Osman Memorial Hospital, 2, and Zainab Panjwani Hospital, 13.
Sources said that in comparison with previous years, the rate of discharged patients this year was low, which indicated that the patients were being brought to hospital in severe condition and required a longer period for recovery.
Two of the patients who died at a private hospital on Stadium Road were victims of dengue fever syndrome, which afflicts patients who are affected by dengue virus for the second or third time.
Warnings ignored
Experts said that the authorities concerned were told much in advance that a repeat of the dengue epidemic was imminent, but appropriate preventative measures were not seen on the ground in time. “There was a need to undertake a massive fumigation campaign right after the rains,” said a senior doctor dealing with infectious diseases
In the meantime, Sindh Health Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed has once again asked the city government to ensure fumigation and the spray of insecticides in the entire city in order to protect people from the dengue virus.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the minister appealed to the people to adopt preventive measures against the virus, particularly covering drinking water because the virus breeds in clean water.
Mr Ahmed also asked the administrations of private hospitals to report to the Dengue Fever Monitoring Cell the affected patients brought to them so that effective measures -- including residual spraying of 20 to 25 homes around a patient’s house to prevent further transmission of the virus – could be taken.
Experts believe that the government should also ensure the efficient disposal of all solid waste from every locality of the city to prevent mosquitoes from spreading the virus.