KARACHI
As the number of cases of the deadly mosquito-borne disease Dengue is on the rise, Health Minister Sindh Dr Sagheer Ahmed has warned that the number of cases this year is much higher than the total number registered in last three years, adding that the government needed to take an immediate notice of the situation.
The government, least interested, has stopped the release of the annually allocated Rs 20 million for the treatment and prevention of the disease and has redirected them to the flood victims.
“The health department should submit a summary if it needs funds,” advisor to chief minister Sindh, Sharmila Farooqui said, bluntly rejecting the allegations.
Talking to the reporters after a visit to the dengue ward in Civil Hospital Karachi, Dr Ahmed said that since January, 2,394 suspected patients had been admitted to 46 hospitals, out of which 1,600 were tested positive. Fifteen people had died in the last 25 days only, he said and the hospitals could not purchase the life saving drugs for the patients because of lack of funds.
A ‘Disease Early Warning System’ had been established and the he had directed the officials at the hospitals to provide free treatments to the patients, he told Pakistan Today.
