By Shahina Maqbool
As the world witnesses more aggressive climate change, Islamabad prepares for yet another spring season. While bringing relief to patients of arthritis and other winter ailments, the warming weather is nothing to look forward to for the thousands of pollen allergy sufferers in the most beautiful capital city of the world.
Climate change is very much evident this year in the disturbed pattern of rainfall and the fluctuating temperature patterns. The winter rains were delayed by almost two months, and for the first time, the beautiful yellow dandelions which are a harbinger of spring in Islamabad, did not adorn the highways, as they have always done for so many years.
This will adversely affect the pollinating patterns of the most allergenic (allergy-causing) plant, the paper mulberry. Contrary to tall claims by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), not much has been done to replace this invasive plant. The paper mulberry problem, created by the CDA by depriving Islamabad of its natural vegetation to pave way for development of residential and industrial sectors, gave an opportunity for the opportunistic paper mulberry to establish its hold in every nook and corner of Islamabad. Ironically, the number of these trees is negligible in areas not harmed by the CDA.
To add fuel to fire, the 'so-called' chest specialists of yester-years ('so-called' because most of them possessed minor specialisations in tuberculosis and lung diseases, yet headed the most prestigious chest departments in Pakistan) claimed that there were no deaths from pollen asthma; they did this to hide their ignorance and incompetence in managing severe asthma. Patients who died in the emergency units of hospitals were listed as 'dead on arrival,' since many patients of pollen asthma have died on the way to, or just after reaching hospitals, and the cause of death was never stated to be 'asthma.'
It is not surprising, but painful, to learn that many high-level government officials do not have a clue about the severity of the pollen problem in Islamabad, and some even think that this is a media hype created by some doctors to promote their businesses. One cannot blame them, since even the relevant doctors working in government hospitals are clueless about the proper management of pollen allergy and asthma, and hence do not appreciate the severity and effects of this scourge.
In the last few years, the Director General of Health was brought to notice the importance of this problem, and took some measures like installing nebulizer machines in government hospitals in Islamabad. Unfortunately, no training on management of pollen asthma was provided with them.
To make matters worse, some self-styled environmentalists have protected the paper mulberry, which is an extremely invasive and environment-unfriendly plant species, due to their ignorance.
Some years ago, the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, took a serious note of this problem and the apathy of the Ministry of Health. He instituted a free pollen allergy relief camp which has been held annually at the Aabpara Community Centre in Islamabad since the last several years. Unfortunately, there is no news of such a camp being organised this year, perhaps due to the frequent changes in the Islamabad administration.
The current pollen patterns for Islamabad, as predicted by Dr. Osman Yusuf, one of the leading allergists in the world and Advisor to the WHO, are that pollens of paper mulberry are expected to start shedding around March 10 or 12 this year. The season is delayed due to delayed rains, so patients who used to start suffering from mid to end of February may face a shorter, but slightly more intense pollen season in 2010. It now requires 2 to 5 days of crisp sunshine, after the current rainy days, for the mulberries to start flowering.
The first affected sectors would be G-6, followed by F-6, F-7 and G-7, and then the other sectors, moving westwards. In Rawalpindi, Ayub Park area and Chaklala Scheme-III bear the highest concentration of spring pollinating trees, followed by Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, New Katarian, and lastly Effendi Colony and Chirah Road areas. Westridge and Harley Street areas, being upwind, are more prone to allergy in the rainy monsoon season (July-September) due to high concentrations of 'bhang' (cannabis) pollens.
Bhara Kahu and Bani Gala, which were previously unaffected by paper mulberry pollen allergy, have now developed enough paper mulberry trees to start causing allergy. This has been due to the irresponsible construction work carried out in the area, in which residents cleared larger areas of land of their natural foliage and vegetation than they needed for construction. Other cities affected by paper mulberry pollens include Attock, Hayatabad township in Peshawar, Sialkot, and recently identified pockets near Haripur and Hasanabdal.
The symptoms of pollen allergy include sneezing and runny nose, itching and watering of eyes, coughing, difficulty in breathing, wheezing, and eventually attacks of asthma. In addition, there may be itching on the skin, and sometimes gastro-intestinal symptoms.