KARACHI: The Sindh government on Thursday decided to seek assistance of dengue experts from Punjab to train doctors and other staff of the provincial health department as the cases of dengue and malaria have started spreading rapidly across the province, especially in the city, during monsoon rains.

Official sources said the decision to that effect was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Muhammad Sohail Rajput and attended among others by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab, City Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon, Islamabad Chief Commissioner retired Captain Muhammad Usman and officers linked with vector-borne diseases of the health department.

The meeting was briefed on the spread of dengue virus in the province. The meeting was informed that 4,031 cases of dengue virus had been reported in the province so far this year while nine people, all in Karachi, died of the virus.

In 2021, total 6,373 cases of dengue had been reported.

It was also informed that most of the dengue cases were reported in Karachi. As many as 1,397 cases were reported in district East alone, 857 in Central, 679 in South, 161 in Korangi, 138 in Keamari and 106 cases in district West.

In other districts of the province, the situation was not reported as alarming as in Karachi. There were 175 cases reported in Tharparkar, 31 each in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Hyderabad, and 26 each in Badin and Thatta.

Islamabad Chief Commissioner Usman, who has also served as primary health secretary in Punjab and remained associated with anti-dengue measures, shared his experience of dengue control in Punjab and informed about the mechanism of dengue virus eradication there.

The chief secretary said that daily dengue reports would be taken from all public and private hospitals, and laboratories while all dengue cases would be recorded on one dashboard to make the existing programme a success to eliminate the virus in Sindh more effectively.

He said tagging of dengue patients would be done followed by spray in the houses of patients and 20 surrounding residential facilities to eliminate the virus.

The chief secretary further directed all the deputy commissioners to hold meetings with the departments concerned and submit daily reports.

He also said that entomologists would be recruited in the province and a public-awareness campaign would be started.

Administrator Murtaza Wahab, who is also a provincial government’s spokesman, said that 201 cases of dengue virus were reported in Karachi on Wednesday. “The health department has started spray and fumigation to destroy the larvae in dengue-affected areas,” he added.

The administrator said that at present 30 vehicles of the KMC were fumigating all the districts of Karachi to eliminate dengue.

He further said that the provincial government would also reduce the charges of dengue virus test though the Sindh Healthcare Commission.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2022