Seasonal dengue panic

The Sindh Health Department has announced that two more patients have died of dengue in Sindh, raising the provincial total to eight. The recent deaths serve as an urgent alarm for both the government and the public. Testing in just 24 hours revealed 1,589 positive cases out of 5,978 tested, with 876 in Karachi and 713 in the Hyderabad Division alone. For every infected individual, there is a broader ripple effect of sick workers, children being kept home from school and communities left wondering where the disease might strike next.

Nevertheless, the responsibility to take preventative measures does not rest solely with the public. The allocation of 978 dedicated beds, while a necessary step, should not remain the only one. The government must anticipate outbreaks in high-risk areas where sanitation, particularly dirty stagnant water, is a major problem. It must also ensure rapid diagnostics, deploy effective public communication and pre-emptively shield the immunocompromised segment of the public. Dengue prevention must not depend on seasonal interventions or short-term drives. Instead, tackling it requires year-round surveillance and municipal cooperation to remove breeding sites. Health facilities must also be well-funded and capable of managing surges, especially when resources are thin.

The next step must be rooted in shared accountability. The government needs to move beyond data collection and initiate a sustained preventive strategy. There is a dire need to intensify public information campaigns, not only to alert citizens about precautions but also to equip them with practical preventive measures within their communities. Citizens also need to take responsibility by ensuring that their surroundings are kept clean and reporting stagnant water or mosquito breeding sites promptly. A united, proactive approach which is anchored in communication and prevention is the only way to halt the cycle of seasonal panic and preventable diseases.