‘Increase in dengue due to shortage of funds’

Dengue Surveillance Cell to function round the clock, says health minister.

KARACHI: A rapid increase in dengue cases is the result of a shortage of funds, which have not yet been released to the ministry of health, said Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed during his visit to the Civil hospital on Sunday.

“It is a dangerous situation” the minister commented, adding that the ministry was ready to tackle the threat. However, the Rs20 million allocated by the government for the prevention and treatment of dengue have not been released as yet. As a result, government hospitals are facing a shortage of resources to treat patients.

Meanwhile, Ahmed announced an extension of the Dengue Surveillance Cell, which will now function around the clock.

In order to diagnose the fever immediately, the Rapid Kit Antigen will be used in place of the old method, which takes days, said Ahmed, who also called a meeting with the medical superintendents and the EDOs on Monday to tackle the threat posed by dengue.

According to the health ministry, almost 3,000 cases of dengue have been reported while 15 patients have died since the outbreak of the disease in the province.

However, private sources revealed that 10,000 cases have been reported just in Karachi this year.

All hospitals have cell-separator machines that can produce bags of platelets to resolve a shortage of platelets for patients, said Ahmed, adding that the government has provided many hospitals, including Civil, Abbasi and Qatar hospital, with bags and has also signed an agreement with the Hussaini Blood Bank to provide platelets.

Preventive measures

The minister advised patients to avoid using antibiotics or self-prescribed medication until their fever is diagnosed by a doctor. The prevalence of the disease is greater among those who have already suffered once from an attack. For these people, the second attack is far more dangerous, he said.

The health ministry is working with the City District Government Karachi to launch a spray campaign around the city to kill the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes - carriers of the dengue fever, said Ahmed, adding that the government also plans to publish pamphlets in Urdu to create awareness about the disease and the measures that can be taken to prevent it.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2010.