Dengue rages on as govt seeks people’s help

The dengue epidemic continues uninhibited as it claimed another five lives on Thursday and the total number of infected victims crossed 5,000, with 521 more cases reported in Punjab in the last 24 hours. An employee of Mayo Hospital named Muhammad Ayyub, two girls named Hina Atiq, 19, and Fizza Hanif, 18, and a man named Mamri Khan died of dengue fever in Lahore on Thursday.
As the epidemic raged on, the virus also made its first appearance in Karak district on Thursday when a patient was sent to Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar for treatment. Meanwhile, the Sindh Dengue Surveillance Cell confirmed the death of two dengue patients, raising the number of dengue-related deaths in Karachi to three. Punjab Health Secretary Jehanzeb Khan, meanwhile, sought the participation of the people in the efforts to eliminate the deadly virus. The secretary claimed that 4,705 patients had recovered from the disease so far.
He said free medical treatment was being provided to dengue patients at the hospitals and the Environment Department had also announced free blood tests for suspected dengue patients in its laboratories. He said dengue was a new disease in Pakistan and needed research. He said that the disease had been present in Sri Lanka for the last 40 years and Sri Lankan experts had received guidance about its eradication from Thailand. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif presided over a high-level meeting at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here today to review measures against the virus, in which the Sri Lankan experts also participated.
The head of the Sri Lankan team Dr Kolitha Sellahewa and other members of his team said there was no shortcut to dealing with the challenge of dengue virus and long-term planning was essential for the purpose. The chief minister also banned posting and transfers in the Punjab Health Department until further orders, in view of the ongoing campaign against dengue.