10-year-old boy dies of dengue fever

Karachi

Karachi’s health authorities reported on Friday that a child had died of dengue hemorrhagic fever in the city.

Dengue Prevention and Control Program Sindh in-charge Dr Masood Solangi said 10-year-old Zulfiqar Ali, a resident Gabol Town, was taken to the Aga Khan University Hospital on September 5 and his laboratory reports had confirmed that he was suffering from dengue fever.

His condition deteriorated and he passed away on the Wednesday evening.

Officially, the child is the second person to have died of the mosquito-borne disease in the city this year. However, there are reports that there the overall toll could be four.

A few days back, a 52-year old employee of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had died of dengue fever at a private hospital and even though this was mentioned on his death certificate, the dengue control officials refused to accept it arguing he had died of a heart attack.

The dengue prevention and control program has successfully ‘prevented dengue fever by pressuring public and private hospitals to not report them to the media. It has further instructed them to not reveal the actual figures of the patients tested positive for dengue fever.

No awareness campaign has been launched by the provincial dengue prevention and control cell after the recent monsoon rains and despite a surge in number of mosquitoes and even deaths because of the disease, no steps were taken by the cell to launch a fumigation drive and create awareness among citizens.

Health experts have urged citizens to remain cautious and advised them to wear clothes covering their entire bodies and use mosquito repellents.

They have also advised citizens to not let freshwater accumulate in their vicinity. If there is water accumulated in their area, they should pour some kerosene oil in the water to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes

“Dengue fever can result in death. There is no treatment available for this viral disease so far and the only option is to prevent mosquito bites,” Dr Zeeshan Ansari, a physician, told The News.