Dengue danger

The recent outbreak of dengue is a serious lapse in the protection of public health and points to the ineffectuality of the health department. Five people in Karachi have died in the last 10 days and 412 have tested positive for the disease – a number which is thought to be grossly underreported.

It is shameful that in the thick of the dengue season – which lasts from June to October – the Dengue Surveillance Cell in Sindh was next to inoperative. In mid-September, the health minister ordered that the cell be revived to limit the outbreak of the deadly infection. The dengue virus has been striking the country regularly for the past few years, and there is no reason for the health department to scramble to its feet after the disease has taken its toll. Preventive measures including regular fumigation and public awareness campaigns should have been under way well before the outbreak of the disease.

Lamentably, this lack of initiative is understandable given that, according to reports, the cell has yet to receive its allocated Rs20 million from the Sindh government. It is pertinent to ask how the CDGK hospitals will give patients the free treatment promised by the health secretary given that they simply do not have the resources. Currently, CDGK hospitals do not even have diagnostic kits and blood transfusion facilities which are crucial in treatment.

Also, there is a disconnect between private hospitals and the health department. The former have no incentive to report their dengue patients when they foresee no support from the surveillance cell. At a time when the World Health Organisation has identified dengue as one of the fastest emerging infections in Asia, we urge the health department to deploy the necessary funds to contain the disease. Citizens should protect themselves by using mosquito repellants, cleaning stagnant pools of water and covering water vessels.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2010.