KARACHI, Sept 1: The first death caused by dengue fever outside the city has alarmed the provincial health department and demanding the health and municipal authorities of various districts to improve their efforts to ensure that the fever does not spread across the province with epidemic proportions, it emerged on Sunday.

At least nine people, including four women, have died in Karachi and one in Hyderabad so far this year because of dengue virus that overall has affected 864 people in the province so far.

The situation in Karachi has already been declared ‘alarming’ by officials who admit that it has assumed such proportions because of lack of interest by relevant officials in effective vector control campaign.

The officials also blame poor efforts to increase public awareness and constantly delaying drives against the establishments believed to be providing breeding grounds to mosquito for the spread of dengue virus.

However, sources said that increase in the number of people affected by the lethal disease outside the city had alarmed the authorities, who were sensing that a province-wide epidemic was forthcoming.

Sources in the health department said the officials had asked their subordinate functionaries elsewhere in Sindh to send them analysis reports depicting a ‘realistic’ situation in their respective districts and formulate effective measures to contain the virus from spreading further.

With an overwhelming number of dengue-affected people (828) recorded in Karachi, Hyderabad comes second with 23 dengue virus victims as one of them died early this week.

Two each patients have been reported in Kambar-Shahdadkot, Sanghar, Shikarpur and Thatta while Larkana, Dadu, Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze and Kashmore districts have reported one patient each.

The remaining 13 districts are still spared from the mosquito-borne disease.

“The situation is, no doubt, alarming when we see the number of dengue patients is fast increasing after it remained still for so many months. What is more alarming is the fact that it has killed a patient in Hyderabad, which means that the state of affairs is not as good as we had thought,” admitted a senior official who wished not to be named.

He alluded to the reasons not different from what were generally cited for Karachi.

“The situation is not different there from Karachi; in fact, it is much poorer there. The municipalities in the rest of Sindh consider too little to launch an effective vector control programme,” said the official.

In its letter to authorities in Hyderabad and other districts, the provincial health department has stressed the need for utilising all resources to do away with the breeding grounds of mosquito especially in the current monsoon when the disease hits hard the areas left unattended.

Officials said that so far a total 152 people had died since this menace forcefully hit Karachi eight years ago. Transmitted by bite of female mosquito, the disease is found more widely due to increased movement of people and goods — including objects such as bamboo plants and used tyres — as well as floods linked to climate change.