The deadly dengue virus claimed 14 more lives in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday with 9 of them from Lahore alone, as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif played down the fear of the deadly epidemic during a visit to Jinnah Hospital, saying the spread of the disease was on a decline.
Nawaz’s attempt at placating the people coincided with the highest number of deaths in a single day since the outbreak of the disease. The death toll on Friday and Thursday had been four and five, respectively, while Saturday proved the worst day for dengue patients as nine people succumbed to the virus in the Punjab capital. The development has sent chills down the spines of people already terrorised by the dengue mayhem.
Even the Sri Lankan team of experts who came to assist the Punjab government surrendered, saying it would take almost a decade to overpower dengue. Those who died on Saturday included 18-year-old Kajal from Qurban Lines at Services Hospital, Mamoona Khwaja, 72, at Fauji Foundation Hospital, Muhammad Jamil, 40, from Shadbagh, Mehmood Ahmad, 65, at Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital, Muhammad Azam, 60, from Nabha Road, Mutahir Ahmad, 57, and Rizwan, 18, at Ittefaq Hospital.
However, the Punjab Health Department confirmed only two deaths and placed the overall death toll at 19. Moreover, official figures released by the government claimed the number of dengue patients in the province had reached 6,174, with 5,715 patients in Lahore alone. Another 413 new patients were tested positive in the province in the last 24 hours of which 400 were diagnosed in Lahore.
The most affected towns in the district are said to be Gulberg Town and Data Ganj Bakhsh Town. Health officials claim that 2,969 blood samples were tested in the last 24 hours, but sources insisted the patients being identified on a daily basis were higher than those reported officially, with at least 800 new cases being identified in Lahore on Saturday, adding that the actual figure stood at 11,285 cases, with 40 deaths so far.
Disease end: During his visit to Jinnah Hospital, Nawaz said it would take some time to control the deadly disease, adding that nearly 9,000 suspects visited Jinnah Hospital everyday and almost 90 percent of them did not have dengue fever. He said effect of dengue would ease by October and would end in December. He directed the Punjab government to take appropriate steps to avoid the outbreak of such epidemics in the future.
Praising Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s efforts, he said despite security threats, the Punjab CM was on the go to control the disease and the government had ensured “proper” treatment at all hospitals. “This is a challenge and can be overcome by a comprehensive public awareness campaign, as anti-mosquito spray is only a small component of the overall efforts to control dengue…the government should devise a strategy beforehand to cope with dengue next year,” Nawaz said.
Meanwhile, the Lahore district government imposed Section 144 across Lahore to control the spread of dengue virus in the city. The decision was taken in an emergency meeting chaired by Shahbaz Sharif to find out ways to control the disease. The Punjab government has also stopped car service stations from operating until further orders, and decided that stern action would be taken against people storing water in open spaces. It also decided to take action against those who spilled water outside their houses and shops.
Action: Shahbaz announced that any hospital charging a blood test fee of more than Rs 90 would have to face stern action. “If the private sector rips off dengue patients, I will deal with them with an iron hand,” he said, adding that all dispensaries had been made functional to share the burden of hospitals. In this regard, teams of the City District Government Lahore would be raiding laboratories across the city to check overcharging against blood tests.
The dengue virus is also talking its hold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the death toll from the virus climbed to five on Saturday. According to a latest report by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department, 109 suspected cases of dengue virus had been reported across the province, of which 44 had been confirmed. As many as 11 cases were reported in Abbotabad, of which 10 were confirmed, while 11 dengue cases were confirmed out of 52 in Haripur. Twelve cases were confirmed in Mardan and 10 in Mansehra.
Deadly dengue contines to kill
