246 patients are presently being treated at Saidu Teaching Hospital, 12 at THQ and eight at private hospitals. PHOTO: FILE
The issue was raised by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker from Swat, Qaimos Khan. Khan told the house the virus has spread across his district, adding a shortage of medicines and other facilities for victims was further compounding problems. He maintained thousands of people were suffering at home besides patients admitted to hospitals.
He urged the government to take emergency measures to control the spread of dengue and demanded medicines, fumigation and other facilities for the district.
Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Baacha said the outbreak had spread to neighbouring areas of Swat, including Malakand and Batkhela.
PML-N lawmaker from Kohistan, Abdul Sattar Khan also urged the government to take the matter seriously, saying it was a humanitarian issue.
Another PML-N lawmaker from Hazara, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalhota told the house a patient has died of Congo virus in his constituency, while seven others were being treated at present. Reports, however, indicate two people have died of the disease.
“Two [patients] are undergoing treatment in Islamabad, while five others (sic) were at Abbottabad,” said Nalhota, adding he also took up the issue with the chief minister, who ordered medical teams be dispatched to the area. Nalhota urged authorities to take more steps including proper fumigation.
Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak said there were at least nine patients suffering from dengue in his home constituency of Buner. Besides treatment, awareness was also very important to confront the epidemic, he added.
ANP’s Mian Jaffer Shah said private laboratories were minting money from patients and asked the government to keep a check on their operations.
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Israrullah Gandapur assured the house the government was taking the issue seriously. He said so far about 1,500 patients have been discharged from Saidu Teaching Hospital, 58 from Tehsil Headquarters Hospital and 207 from private hospitals.
He added 246 patients were presently being treated at Saidu Teaching Hospital, 12 at THQ and eight at private hospitals.
Gandapur confirmed at least seven deaths due to the disease. He said those who died had previously been treated at private facilities, adding some medicines should not be administered to dengue patients.
He insisted dengue patients were being provided free medicines, while the chief minister has also approved around Rs60 million to cope with the outbreak.
Speaker Asad Qaiser directed lawmakers to run a full-fledged campaign against dengue. He maintained health, information, local government and education departments should play an effective role in this regard.
Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan informed the house his department launched a month-long sanitation drive on Wednesday, adding the initiative will help neutralise dengue.
He asked lawmakers to arrange sanitation drives in their respective areas with the help of the local government department.
Later, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) MPA from Lower Dir, Muzaffar Syed raised the issue of about 869 vacant posts in the education department in his district. He asked the government to fill these vacancies and was also backed by Sardar Hussain Babak and Mufti Syed Janan.
However, Minister for Agriculture and Information Technology Shahram Khan assured Syed the appointment process was impeded by court cases. He added the government will promptly make appointments once the cases are decided.
The house referred a privileged motion of JUI-F MPA Munawar Khan to the concerned committee. K-P Provincial Ombudsman Amendment Bill, 2013 was also introduced in the house. The session was later adjourned till Monday afternoon.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2013.
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