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Two more succumb to deadly dengue fever in KP

By Mushtaq Yusufzai
September 24, 2017

PESHAWAR: A child and a man died of dengue fever here on Saturday as the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease climbed to 33 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The dengue outbreak was first reported from the Tehkal area of the provincial capital and the virus then spread to the adjacent Pishtakhara union council and infected thousands of people in the two populous residential areas.

The two patients, who died of dengue fever, were identified as 10-year-old Naushad Khan and 50-year-old Turab Khan.

Naushad Khan belonged to Tehkal and was admitted to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) on Friday where he succumbed to high fever reportedly caused by dengue virus.

Turab Khan also hailed from Tehkal and he died at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC). His family had taken him to hospital on Friday.

With the loss of the two lives, the death toll from dengue fever reached 33 in the province.

Most of the people, who died of dengue fever in Peshawar, belonged to Tehkal and Pishtakhara union councils.

Meanwhile, hospitals in Peshawar and elsewhere in KP continued to receive patients with high grade fever and symptoms similar to dengue.

According to the Dengue Response Unit, 1,429 patients were taken to different hospitals on Saturday where 225 of them tested positive. The number of infected people started declining in the past few days due to a host of reasons.

The government has declared dengue emergency in the province and diverted its resources to the epidemic.

However, some residents of Tehkal seem to be upset with the measures being taken by the government to handle the crisis.

Some of them recently held a meeting and expressed concern at the alleged failure of the government to contain dengue.

The residents formed ‘Khalil Qaumi Jirga’ that gave five days to the government for taking practical steps to control dengue epidemic. The deadline is going to expire on Sunday.

The jirga comprising of politicians, dengue affected people and elders of Khalil tribe threatened to block the University Road on Monday if the government didn’t informed them about the “practical measures.”

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Arbab Khizer Hayat told The News that the Khalil Qaumi Jirga held a meeting on Saturday where former MPA Atifur Rahman Khalil, former provincial minister Maulana Amanullah Haqqani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, and Jamaat-i-Islami leader Kashif Azam, Arbab Tahir Khan of Awami National Party, Arbab Zarak Khan of Pakistan People’s Party and Pir Fida advocate of Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf were present.

“KP government is not showing seriousness in controlling dengue epidemic.

The dengue affected area, Tehkal, has not so far been declared as calamity hit area,” said Arbab Khizer Hayat.

The provincial government has been providing free treatment to dengue patients. It also announced Rs500,000 compensation for the family of each person who died of dengue.