Post-Eid risk of dengue fever, chikungunya spread looms large

No case of dengue fever so far reported from ICT

Islamabad

Not a single confirmed case of dengue fever has so far been reported from Islamabad Capital Territory this year however, there are chances of sporadic outbreaks of dengue fever and chikungunya in scattered areas of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in coming days due to extensive travelling of residents from endemic areas to the region.

It is important that a significant proportion of population of the twin cities leaves for their native towns before Eidul Fitr to spend the holy festival with their relatives. Similarly a good number of residents of the twin cities who are working in other districts of the country would reach here in town to spend Eid holidays.

The travellers moving from and to endemic areas particularly Karachi where a huge number of cases of dengue fever and chikungunya have already been reported may bring infection to the federal capital.

There are epidemiological evidences developed from data in the past years of incidence of infections like dengue fever and chikungunya in this region of the country due to large scale movement of population arriving from dengue endemic areas like Karachi, said Additional District Health Officer at ICT Health Department Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani while talking to ‘The News’ on Thursday.

He explained that every year on Eid holidays, people leave Islamabad for their home towns with family for almost a week and while staying in areas where dengue fever outbreak is ongoing; they get a bite from an infected mosquito and return to Islamabad with virus in their blood.

He added the factor causes two repercussions; one is that the hospitals receive a large number of patients that results in management problems, panic and media hike and the other is that the local dengue mosquitoes of Islamabad, Aedes aegypti and Aedes Albopictus, get infected by biting or feeding on these patients arriving from dengue endemic areas, thus causing further spread of the disease transmission to other people who are bitten by mosquitoes harbouring virus in their bodies.

He said it is time to create awareness among public about the epidemiological phenomenon so that they may take care and get examined immediately in case of developing symptoms of infections like dengue fever, malaria and chikungunya.

The most important thing, however, is that proper hospital clinical case management must be planned for people who throng hospitals before and after Eid, said Dr. Durrani. To a query, he said it is highly important to develop coordination between hospitals and health departments enabling the health authorities to provide immediate epidemiological response in the areas from where the patients would be coming from, to contain the virus and stop its transmission to other vulnerable population from bite of the infected mosquitoes.

He said the moment news of patient is received in a hospital, the district health department should send rapid response teams to the area of the patient’s residence that after verifying the case, the house and the vicinity should perform fumigation and Insecticidal Residual Spray to kill local mosquitoes preventing them from transmitting the virus to other people.