Dengue fever cases perpetually on the rise

Islamabad : With 1,201 people acquiring dengue fever in the last 48 hours, a perpetual increase in the number of patients is evident amidst the government’s assurances of all possible measures being taken to curb the crisis.

According to data acquired from the Dengue Monitoring Cell, 11,214 cases of Dengue Fever have been identified so far. As many as 296 people in Islamabad were diagnosed with the disease in the last 48 hours, taking the total number of victims in the capital city to 1,910. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the number of victims has risen to 2,267, with 453 people acquiring it in the last 48 hours. The number of patients in Sindh has risen to 2,397 and that in Balochistan to 1,773.

The Dengue Fever virus is also active in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where it was diagnosed in 38 patients during the last 48 hours, with the total number of patients now standing at 148.

While public sector hospitals are dedicating more and more beds to accommodate the rising number of patients, the government has also solicited the support of private sector hospitals, which have committed provision of free treatment and 1000 beds, should the need arise.

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention that the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza has activated an Emergency Operations Centre at the National Institute of Health on September 16 to enable real-time coordination with provincial health departments for acquisition of quality data for action. This has happened for the first time for any disease, besides polio.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza visited the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to examine the plight of Dengue Fever patients for himself. He said, no compromises will be allowed in terms of patient care and assured that patients languishing in the hospital’s corridors would be shifted to other hospitals.

“Patient load at PIMS is immense. We are unable to accommodate all patients in wards, so I have instructed that before mid-day tomorrow, all patients who have temporarily been accommodated in corridors be transferred to other hospitals. We still have 250 beds available to transfer patients,” Dr. Zafar stated. He also maintained that investigations and general patient care for Dengue Fever patients admitted at PIMS is satisfactory, but patient load is immense. He mentioned having received some complaints with reference to availability of medicines which, he assured, would immediately be overcome.