Dengue dangers

Almost 700 cases of the dengue virus have been confirmed by health authorities in Karachi, with news of new positive tests and admissions to hospitals coming in by the day. At least five deaths have been reported and the virus is now spreading in interior Sindh too - where the chances of victims receiving proper treatment are more remote given the lack of health facilities. Even those in Karachi are said to be strained with demands placed on websites for blood to help victims suffering haemorrhaging and some private centres are said to be turning patients away. While dengue has become an annual menace in our country, the presence of so much standing water this year, as a result of the floods, adds to the threat. We need a sustained fumigation campaign to kill off the disease-causing mosquito.
But at the same time we need to remember that one of the best ways to prevent disease spreading is to educate people. There is immense need for such an awareness campaign not only in Sindh but across the country. Dengue cases have also been reported in Punjab. At present people in some places are reported to be hacking down greenery in the hope that this will keep away the Aedis Egypti, mosquito which carries dengue. Suggestions have come in, some through letters to newspapers, that waterplants at Karachi University be removed to curb the spread of the disease. They need to be informed that an attack on plants will not solve the problem and instead hurt biodiversity, which is already at risk. People need to be assisted with the task of draining away standing water and educated about what they can do to prevent bites. The dengue threat is a huge one and more time must not be lost in putting in place a strategy to combat it.