Sindh has registered 1,045 dengue-positive cases in the 49 weeks of the current year. Over 78 percent (824) of the cases were reported in Karachi alone. Seventeen patients across the province succumbed to the virus, and 15 of them belonged to the metropolitan.
These details were disclosed in a report signed by Sindh Dengue Surveillance Cell Focal Person Dr M Shakeel Aamir Mullick. According to the report, most dengue-positive cases in Karachi were registered in January, and the highest number of patients to succumb to the virus was reported in September. However, sources in the Sindh Health Department said the entire data of the Dengue Surveillance Cell is based on invalid data. “A total of 464 suspected cases were registered in the metropolis, but not a single suspected case was reported in any of the remaining 22 districts of the province.”
The disparity in the report’s figure (824) and the one provided by the sources (464) is more than 53 percent. While the Dengue Surveillance Cell’s report claims no suspected patients were registered in 22 districts of the province, the sources said 221 positive cases were reported in Sindh’s districts. A recent report issued by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation along with the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission stated that 4,062 square kilometres in southern Sindh are still inundated in floodwater. The standing water in the region is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and independent reports claimed that thousands of livestock had died after the number of mosquitoes in the area had increased.
However, it is surprising that the Dengue Surveillance Cell has so far found no suspected case of dengue in the flood-hit districts. Moreover, according to the cell’s report, only two people in 22 districts of the province have died due to dengue this year.
The sources said the Health Department is highlighting and exaggerating only Karachi’s data to receive coverage in the media and obtain more funds from the provincial government. The Dengue Surveillance Cell has no interest in collecting data from the other districts of the province.
When the cell’s focal person was contacted, he said, “Through a notification, Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed has banned all officials from issuing statements in the media. Therefore, I can’t say anything.”
