MNCs cash in on dengue panic

Anti-mosquito spray companies seem to be spreading panic about dengue in order to hike their sales while experts are questioning the effectiveness of anti-mosquito sprays and other mosquito repellents, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The Punjab government said that dengue fever was not a fatal disease while the anti-mosquito spray brands have been propagating that the disease was lethal and this caused citizens to panic. King Edward Medical University (KEMU) Pro Vice Chancellor Asad Aslam said that the branded sprays did not kill mosquitoes but rather knocked them out or paralyzed them for some time whereas spray companies claimed that these insecticides killed dengue mosquitoes.
This revelation by senior doctors and experts raised grave concerns for the citizens who had been spending thousands of rupees to keep themselves safe from dengue fever. KEMU Professor Tahira also brought the issue that the Multi National Companies (MNCs) were claiming that dengue was a fatal disease in front of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif. The PML-N chief instructed Senator Pervez Rasheed to address the issue during a meeting at the KEMU on Friday but no significant steps had been taken to check the issue.
Secretary Agriculture Arif Nadeem said that a meeting was scheduled for Saturday with the insecticides’ manufacturers to ensure the provision of anti-mosquito sprays on normal rates to the citizens. He said that MNA Bilal Yaseen and MPA Khawaja Salman Raffique would also participate in the meeting but Bilal Yaseen denied being part of any such meeting.
Citizens had been spending thousands of rupees in order to stay safe from mosquitoes under the influence of the massive campaign by these brands in general and the MNCs in particular. They said that many people who were unaware of the real consequences of dengue fever were being intimidated by these campaigns while their dengue propaganda could also damage the dengue patients psychologically.
The prices of the mosquito repellents have hiked significantly and the retailers are keeping a huge profit margin. A 400 mililitre (ml) of insecticide spray was available for Rs 200 while it is being sold at Rs 260 to Rs 280 in the retail stores. Same is the case with mosquito repellent lotions, coils, and electric machines. A whole sale dealer said that he was short on supply due to the increased demand; therefore the retailers were selling these products for higher prices.
A citizen, Hamza, said that he had to buy a 400 ml spray after every four days which costed him around Rs 2000 per month and it was a huge financial burden for him. He said that on one hand, the government was spending thousands of rupees on fogging and spraying but had failed to negotiate with the manufacturers of the insecticides to lower the prices and on the other hand, the citizens had to spend thousands to protect themselves in their houses.
He said that he observed that these sprays were ineffective and did not kill mosquitoes but paralysed them for some time. Another citizen, Saima, said that she was surprised to see the advertisements for these brands which claimed that dengue was fatal while the doctors claimed otherwise. She said that it seemed that the Punjab government was intimidated by the immense influence that the MNCs had on the economy and had failed to take any action against them.
Saima said that the media did not speak against these MNCs in order to bag advertisements and sponsorships. It was doubtful that mosquito repellent lotions were of good quality as she knew regular users of these lotions who had fallen prey to dengue fever, she added.