Ominous sign?: Polyclinic receives capital’s first dengue case

Twelve people in Pindi already confirmed to have contracted the disease

ISLAMABAD:

Alarm bells were set ringing in the capital after Polyclinic hospital on Thursday confirmed the year’s first dengue case.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Tanveer Malik, the hospital’s spokesman, said Saima, a resident of Bhimber Trar, was brought to the hospital with high grade fever, severe muscular ache and skin rash.

She was admitted to the medical ward and later it was confirmed that she had contracted dengue, he said.

Meanwhile, according to a Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) official who requested anonymity, said so far seven suspected cases of dengue fever had been reported in the capital.

“Out of these, one has tested positive who is admitted at the Polyclinic hospital,” said the official.

Meanwhile, at least 12 cases of dengue have been confirmed at Rawalpindi hospitals this year.

New Plan for Dengue Prevention

A meeting to review a dengue prevention programme for the capital and its effective implementation was held at the CADD headquarters on Thursday.

In the meeting, Minister of State for CADD Barrister Usman Ibrahim said after completion of a three year dengue prevention programme this year worth of Rs31 million, a new PC-1 has been formulated to initiate a new programme for the capital this year.

Furthermore, a coordination and review committee would be formed under the supervision of CADD additional secretary to review the programme’s progress of, he said.

Twin cities’ health departments join hands

The minister further said that like last year, this year too the Islamabad and Rawalpindi health departments will work together to fight against dengue.

CADD would be the main coordination forum for all those departments who are working against this deadly disease, he informed participants.

Mutual trainings regarding dengue awareness and prevention should be arranged for the technical and professional health staff of the twin cities’ hospitals, emphasised the minister.

Media training on reporting dengue cases

There is a need to train and educate media persons regarding reporting dengue cases as in the past several facts have been misquoted, said Ibrahim, adding that, “There is a need to understand the difference between a suspected, probable and a confirmed dengue patient. All of them are not dengue patients as stated in the media sometimes,” he said.

These are three different stages though which a dengue patient goes through, informed Ibrahim, saying further that due to mistaking suspects and probable dengue patients as confirmed patients, the bloated total number presents an alarming picture to the public.

Therefore, to address this issue, a comprehensive system has been devised to not only to identify patients but prospective dengue risk areas as well, he informed further.

“Proper counters have been established in hospitals of the twin cities to verify dengue patients,” said the minister.

Challenges

Talking to The Express Tribune, an official working in the Rawalpindi health department said the current challenge in combating dengue is the absence of a proper solid waste management system in the district as well as rural areas of the capital.

“The recent rains and heaps of garbage lying everywhere in Rawalpindi and suburbs of Islamabad have already provided a favourable atmosphere to the dengue mosquito to breed,” he said.

He was of the view that every year massive efforts are made to fight dengue but the efforts will move in circles unless the root causes (breeding sites) are destroyed.

The official also expressed concerned over the Constitution Avenue sit-ins where masses are converged into a small area with potential breeding sites going unchecked as health officials are refused entry.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2014.