Govt decides to probe spread of dengue

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to seek help of the international health organisations and experts to investigate the causes of large-scale spread of dengue virus that has so far affected some 16,000 people and claimed over 20 lives in the Punjab and other parts of the country, the sources told The News here on Sunday. The sources said the decision to seek help of the international experts to probe spread of the dengue virus has been taken by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Dr Zafar Mirza after reviewing the latest reports submitted by officials of the ministry.

“The federal health ministry will write letters to World Health Organisation (WHO), US based Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Sri Lankan health experts and urge them to visit Pakistan next month to investigate real causes of spread of the dengue virus in Islamabad, the Punjab and all over the country,” the sources said.

According to the reports submitted by the Health Ministry, more than 16,000 people have so far been affected by the dengue fever in Pakistan and twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad are the worst-hit areas where over 6,000 dengue cases have been registered at the government and private hospitals in last few weeks.

The sources said the officials of the Health Ministry in their reports also pointed out that some external factors might have played a role in spread of the dengue fever and it should also be probed by the international experts.

“The Prime Minister House has been in touch with the federal Health Ministry and it is likely to seek report on the current situation regarding number of patients and their treatment at the hospitals,” the sources said.

Former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif is widely regarded as the person who combated the dengue virus on war footing and almost made an end to this threat just in a couple of years after coming into power in 2013.

The then Punjab government reviewed the efforts of Sri Lanka and Thailand to control the dengue virus and then introduced a comprehensive plan involving establishment of a special task force and a research cell, training of doctors and paramedical staff, hiring of employees for spraying and fogging in the public places and inspection of housing units to eliminate dengue larvae from air conditioners, fridges, flower pots, power generators, lawns and other breeding grounds.

The sources said the health services ministry is also likely to provide details of efforts currently being carried out to the Prime Minister House with regard to spread of the dengue virus in the country.

Talking to The News, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Services and Regulations Dr Zafar Mirza said, “The international experts will visit Pakistan but they will have nothing to do with ongoing dengue outbreak. They will only investigate the causes for spread of this disease that will help the government prevent this disease in future.”

“We are providing better healthcare services to the dengue patients and taking all necessary measures to combat this disease. The international experts will identify the reasons that will be countered to prevent spread of dengue virus in future,” he said.

Meanwhile, the nationwide tally of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease has gone up to 29.

According to the national health services ministry, the viral infection has killed most people (11) in Sindh since January this year followed by eight in Punjab, seven in Islamabad and three in Balochistan.

However, no such deaths have been reported in KP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The countrywide incidence of dengue has totaled 16,011, including 3,475 in Punjab, 5,412 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,904 in Sindh, 2,777 in Islamabad, 2,681 in Balochistan, 373 Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and 312 in the erstwhile Federally Administrated Tribal Areas.

According to officials, Islamabad and Rawalpindi have emerged as dengue hotspots as around 45 percent of the 690 nationwide cases reported in the last 24 hours were from there.