KARACHI, Feb 27: After receiving information that three new dengue fever cases were reported in a fortnight in the city, the Sindh Health Department has begun measures to meet a possible outbreak of mosquito afflicted diseases in the province.

A senior heath department official said on Tuesday two female and a male patient were admitted in a hospital between February 12th to 24th, with a history of high fever, rashes and bleeding. They were diagnosed as dengue positive cases.

The two females aged 23 years and 15 years hail from Mahmoodabad in Karachi, and Mirpurkhas respectively. The male patient is 7 years of age and is a resident of Manghopir, Karachi. All of them were discharged by the hospital after treatment lasting two to four days, the official said, adding that the cases could be stray or isolated cases or the result of some end-winter periodic rains.

The Special Secretary of Public Health Wing of the Sindh government, constituted a vigilance committee headed by Additional Secretary Dr Shafqat Hussain Abbasi, to check cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever in Sindh. All the administrative heads of government and private hospitals and healthcare centres have been directed to report all DF cases to Dr Abbasi or Dr Shakeel A Mullick, deputy secretary, in writing or on the phone a source said.

Last year, 4,600 patients suspected to be suffering from dengue were admitted in Karachi hospitals after an outbreak, while 150 patients were admitted in hospitals in the interior of Sindh between June and December. Of these, about 1,600 patients tested positive for dengue virus, while there were 54 dengue related deaths including 50 in Karachi.

The dengue virus is transmitted to human beings through the bite of female “aedes egypti” mosquitoes, which breeds in fresh water and is easily identified as it has white stripes on its body, said an expert in mosquito borne diseases.

The Sindh health department has issued instructions asking executive district health officers to start preventive campaigns from March for recycling of underground tanks. Other preventive measures include ensuring cleanliness in vulnerable areas and anti-mosquito fogging before sunrise and sunset.

For homes instructions were given that there should be indoor residual spraying of between 20 to 25 houses around a patient house to interrupt the further transmission of viruses. All stored water containers should be kept covered at all time in houses, while the government should also ensure the efficient disposal of all solid waste/garbage to avoid mosquitoes spreading dengue.