Dengue claims Punjab minerals secretary’s life

The death of Mines and Minerals Secretary Ataullah Siddiqui at the hands of the dengue virus on Monday has raised several questions on the management of the deadly epidemic that has so far killed 10 people, with 4,044 cases reported in Punjab – 3,576 of which were reported in Lahore alone.
The 55-year-old Siddiqui, whose wife and one of his daughters have also been diagnosed with dengue, was suffering from the deadly disease for over a week and was given treatment at private hospitals. According to a Health Department official, Siddiqui was initially admitted to Saira Memorial Hospital, where he received treatment for five days and was later shifted to Doctors Hospital, where he died of the deadly fever after slipping into the worst form of the disease, dengue shock syndrome, in just a day. The official said further that according to the hospital records, Siddiqui was already in shock when admitted to Doctors Hospital and his platelet count was just 28,000, but he was never given platelets.
The death of an administrative secretary in the top health facilities in the provincial capital has raised several questions regarding the management of dengue patients and how an ostensibly ‘curable’ disease can turn deadly. The Health Department and medical experts have been saying that dengue is a curable disease and the people should not panic. However, not even a single step has been taken to figure out the cause of so many deaths so far. “Being a senior bureaucrat, Siddiqui must have received the best available facilities, yet he did not recover… this should be a wake up call for the authorities concerned to analyse what pushes the patient to death in a curable disease,” said a government official who asked not to be identified by name.
CDC Director Malik Mubashar said Siddiqui was already a heart patient and diabetic, which complicated his condition further. According to the treatment records, however, Siddiqui was administered everything but the blood platelet kits, which is the most important and life-saving treatment for dengue patients. To a question, Malik said that in developed countries an autopsy was done even in normal deaths, but here this was not a trend. Siddiqui’s case is just one of the many that have come forth since the dengue epidemic began spreading in the country, especially in Punjab and Sindh, at an alarming rate. The provincial governments are trying to control the situation but they have not succeeded so far, with new cases being reported every day.
According to government figures, nearly 800 more cases of dengue have appeared on Monday in Punjab with almost 700 in Lahore alone. The victims of dengue epidemic come from almost all areas of the provincial capital, with increasing numbers of reported cases appearing in other urban centres of the province. Among the victims are several prominent personalities and a large majority of doctors. Recently, former Punjab Institute of Cardiology chief executive Prof Jawad Sajid, prominent cardiologist Dr Muhammad Azhar, the Children Hospital’s dean, King Edward Medical University VC’s sons, several government officials and others have also been diagnosed with dengue fever. This has further overburdened government health establishments, while the Punjab government is taking private establishments onboard in order to cope with the epidemic. Stakeholders are demanding a check on private health establishments, which have been found involved in “mishandling” dengue patients with impunity.
Later at night, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Siddiqui had died of a heart attack, a private TV channel reported.