ISLAMABAD: The year’s first dengue case in the federal capital was reported on Saturday, after a Garden Town resident was admitted to Polyclinic Hospital.

A dengue outbreak has already been observed in Peshawar, and health experts believe the dengue virus had shifted to Islamabad due to the frequent movement of people between Peshawar and Islamabad. They suggested taking immediate measures to eradicate the mosquito, warning that otherwise they would be infected with the virus.

A private laboratory has confirmed that 26-year-old Mohammad Nayyar tested positive for the dengue virus, but samples have also been sent to the National Institute of Health for more information. A 15-bed ward has been set up at the hospital due to the possibility of more patients.

Polyclinic spokesperson Dr Sharif Astori told Dawn that hospitals can only treat patients, while the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) are responsible for eradicating the virus.

Hospital attributes presence of virus in capital to movement of people between Peshawar, Islamabad

“Currently, a large number of people in Peshawar are being infected with dengue. People frequently visit Islamabad from Peshawar, so the virus is transferred to Islamabad along with them,” Dr Astori said.

In response to a question, he said that when a mosquito bites a dengue patient, it becomes infected and begins transferring the virus to other people when it bites them.

“Mosquitoes breed very quickly [in rainy weather] because water becomes stagnant at different places. The ICT administration and CDA should take steps to eradicate the mosquito, otherwise it will become a huge problem,” he said.

Islamabad District Health Officer Dr Najeeb Durrani said that earlier, two people from Peshawar who were staying in the capital were admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and the Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi.

“A few days ago, a patient from Mohra Nagial near Rawat was also affected by the virus. Though I do not have the patient’s complete details, he could be the first patient from proper Islamabad,” he said.

Dr Durrani added: “It is a fact that if mosquitoes are infected, the disease starts spreading frequently. So according to our standard operating procedures, we spray the area whenever a case is reported. Efforts are being made to eradicate the mosquito.” When asked, he said 2,400 dengue cases were reported from the rural areas last year, and around 300 were reported from the capital’s urban areas.

“Dengue season starts in August and the number of cases starts decreasing in November. We have been making all the efforts to stop an outbreak of the disease,” he said.

Dr Durrani also asked people to cooperate with the district government and not leave water stagnant anywhere, as freshwater becomes a reservoir for dengue. He suggested that the media also come forward to raise awareness about dengue, which is easy to prevent.

Dengue is spread by the bite of the mosquito, and causes platelet deficiency in patients. Platelet transfusions are required as a patient’s blood does not retain its normal clotting ability, and if timely treatment is not provided the disease can turn into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, which may lead to bleeding, low platelet levels and blood plasma leakage, or into dangerously low blood pressure known as dengue shock syndrome.

Pakistan has experienced many dengue outbreaks since the first observed in 1994. Two major outbreaks were reported over the last two decades: one in 2005, in which over 6,000 cases and 52 deaths were reported in Karachi, and in 2011, when more than 21,000 cases and 350 deaths were reported from Lahore. Between 2011 and 2014, more than 48,000 laboratory-confirmed cases of dengue were reported across the country.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2017