PESHAWAR: Dengue cases are on the rise in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the situation seems to be falling out of the hands of the provincial government. The KP Health Department has reported 98 fresh cases during the last 24 hours, including 55 cases from Peshawar.
There are no separate hospital wards for the treatment of dengue patients in several KP districts, due to which patients have to come to Peshawar for treatment.
Besides Peshawar, nine cases each were reported from Swat, Shangla and Battagram, six from Mansehra, five from Swabi, and four each from Mardan, Lower Dir and Buner. The total number of people affected by dengue in the province this year has reached 1,189.
Meanwhile, the KP government seems to be in denial mode as Chief Minister Mehmood Khan ordered action against those spreading false information about the spread of the disease. However, the alarming rise in the increase of dengue cases calls for emergency measures to be taken by the government.
In a meeting held with health department officials on Sept 12, the chief minister was told that NS-1 positive patients were being falsely diagnosed with dengue fever by private laboratories. The briefing suggested that this was being done for monetary gain. The health officials told the chief minister that special cells have been set up in government hospitals for the diagnosis of dengue virus in patients.
The chief minister subsequently ordered for the immediate hiring of entomologists for the permanent extermination of the virus.