Dengue threat amid pandemic

We are not yet done and dusted with the scourge of novel coronavirus, and yet one more health emergency is staring us in the eye. It is no small mercy that coronavirus cases are in constant decline and health authorities have been heaving a sigh of relief. But, as some would caustically remark, ‘not so fast’. The monsoon season in conjunction with authorities’ inability to carry out preventive measures has heightened the risk of dengue outbreak in Punjab, officials have warned. Only this time, authorities are said to be bracing themselves for an outbreak five times worse than last year.

Last year, more than 47,000 cases of dengue fever were reported from all four provinces and AJK between July and November. Punjab alone accounted for a little less than 9,700 cases, 16 of which ended in death. According to Punjab health officials, the presence of dengue-carrying mosquito larvae has been confirmed in as many as 4,000 locations across the province, prompting the provincial government to muster an emergency response.

The coronavirus pandemic has seriously affected dengue virus prevention. Since many sites, including government offices and private institutes, were closed on account of Covid-19, dengue-carrying mosquitos have had ample space to breed. On top of that, our entire manpower and machinery has been focused on coronavirus prevention. In the past four months, no fumigation activity has been carried out to prevent the possibility of a dengue outbreak.

Given these circumstances, officials have warned that a dengue outbreak this year is likely to be far severer than in the last year, with cases expected to cross 300,000. Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid told this newspaper that her department is taking all measures to control a potential dengue outbreak along with existing cases of Covid-19 and polio in line with the CM’s directives. We expect that authorities will leave no stone unturned to forestall this new threat on the horizon.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2020.

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