Deadly dengue: Health official warns of dengue ‘epidemic’
Malik said 4 dengue patients had already died in Karachi in the current year out of 417 cases reported.
Viral fever posed a serious threat and more casualties were expected if preventative measure were not taken immediately. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The dengue viral fever may take a turn for the worse in the upcoming months if the drainage system is not repaired, warned the Dengue Surveillance Cell focal person Dr Shakeel Aamir Malik.
He was of the opinion that that the viral fever posed a serious threat more casualties were expected if preventative measure were not taken immediately. According to Malik, four dengue patients had already died in Karachi in the current year out of the 417 cases reported in the city so far.
Dr Malik stressed that anti-dengue sprays and the application of larvicides (chemicals that kill mosquito eggs and larvae) must be undertaken in areas where most of the cases had been reported so far. He urged the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator to expedite the ongoing fumigation drive. “There is every chance of a dengue outbreak as a result of the monsoon rains,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2013.
The dengue viral fever may take a turn for the worse in the upcoming months if the drainage system is not repaired, warned the Dengue Surveillance Cell focal person Dr Shakeel Aamir Malik.
He was of the opinion that that the viral fever posed a serious threat more casualties were expected if preventative measure were not taken immediately. According to Malik, four dengue patients had already died in Karachi in the current year out of the 417 cases reported in the city so far.
Dr Malik stressed that anti-dengue sprays and the application of larvicides (chemicals that kill mosquito eggs and larvae) must be undertaken in areas where most of the cases had been reported so far. He urged the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation administrator to expedite the ongoing fumigation drive. “There is every chance of a dengue outbreak as a result of the monsoon rains,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2013.