Dengue fever spurt claims another life

Health minister holds online meeting on dengue, malaria control

KARACHI:

Dengue hemorrhagic fever claimed another life in Karachi's Korangi district yesterday, raising the number of deaths in the city to 36 this year.

At least two people had died of dengue fever in the metropolis on Thursday.

AS per the Sindh health departmet figures, another 275 cases of dengue were reported in the city on September 29, adding to the number of cases this month to a total of 6053. The total number of dengue cases in the city this year has reached 8260.

On September 29, the highest single-day dengue cases, 82, were reported in the East district, while seven dengue cases were reported in District West, 72 cases in District Central, 24 in the District Korangi and 47 cases in District South.

Similarly, 27 dengue cases were reported in Malir district and 16 in Kemari district on September 29.

The total number of dengue cases in the province of Sindh has exceeded 9000 and reached 9826.

Reason for cases spike

Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho has claimed that an increase in reporting by private health facilities is one of the reasons for the rise in vector-borne diseases (VBD) in Sindh.

While speaking at an online meeting on VBD, Dr Pechuho said because of her previous instructions to private health facilities and labs to report on vector-borne diseases the reporting has increased. “Aside from the monsoon, this is one of the reasons for the rise in vector-borne disease trends,” she claimed.

The online meeting was attended by Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Qasim Siraj Soomro, Director, VBD, Deputy Director VBD, and DHOs in Karachi divisions.

“So far in 2022 there have been 486 union councils that have been focused on for vector-borne diseases, with 11,942 fogging and fumigation activities, 5,842 rounds of larvicide, and 123,648 indoor residue spraying in rooms,” Dr Pechuho said.

She directed that stocks of material needed for vector control must be replenished and mosquito nets should be immediately distributed to places that are hotspots of malaria and dengue.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2022.