Dengue fever claims second life in city in two days

The dengue hemorrhagic fever claimed the second life in two days in Karachi when a man of 25 years of age died at an isolation ward of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Saturday morning, officials said.

“Shahzad Raiz, 25, a resident of Landhi, was infected with dengue virus and he was under treatment at an isolation ward at the JPMC. Unfortunately, he suffered Dengue Shock Syndrome yesterday night and died on Saturday morning at the hospital,” said Dr Seemin Jamali, the executive director of the JPMC, while talking to The News.

It is the 14th death due to dengue in Karachi this year while dozens of patients have also been killed by the mosquito-borne viral disease in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal capital after the recent monsoon rains, officials said, adding that people should take precautionary measures as the viral disease has gripped vast areas of the country. Dr Jamali maintained that dozens of patients with dengue fever were reporting at the JPMC and those whose condition was serious were being admitted to the isolation wards while others were being treated at OPDs and given appropriate treatment as per international health protocols.

The Dengue Prevention and Control Program of Sindh also confirmed that 129 new confirmed cases of dengue fever were reported from different public and private hospitals in Karachi, adding that so far 3,747 people had tested positive for dengue fever in Karachi in the current year.

The fever had also claimed a life in Karachi on Friday when a man, who was identified as Muhammad Amir Khan, 31, died due to Dengue Shock Syndrome at a private hospital.

Health officials said Amir was taken to a private hospital five days back where he was diagnosed with dengue viral infection, but due to the unavailability of space, he was sent back home. Two days back, his condition deteriorated and he was shifted to a private hospital where he died today, an official of the health department said on Friday.

Ironically, officials of the provincial dengue prevention and control programme were unaware of any death caused by dengue in the city on Friday. When media persons approached them to confirm the death, they said no new dengue-related deaths had been reported to them by any hospital in the city.

The entire country has been in the grip of dengue after recent rains as daily hundreds of cases of the mosquito-borne disease are being reported from different parts of the country, officials said.

“Use mosquito repellents, wear full-sleeved clothes, don’t let water accumulate at your homes and surroundings and conduct fumigation in the residential areas to get rid of mosquitoes,” said Dr Adnan Ahmed, an expert of infectious diseases.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has also taken notice of the dengue outbreak in the province. On Thursday, directives were issued by the CM to major hospitals of Sindh to keep their emergency services functional round the clock.

He also directed the hospitals’ managements to ensure separate wards for dengue patients and the availability of nets for them.

Pakistan is said to be undergoing one of its worst-ever dengue fever epidemics recording about 20,000 cases and dozens of deaths in recent months. The fever has hit cities of Pakistan, including the capital city Islamabad, putting hospitals countrywide under severe strain.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes a severe flu-like illness and sometimes causes a potentially lethal complication called severe dengue, according to the World Health Organisation.