Apathy Towards Dengue: Disease Sweeping Across Punjab with Negligence to the Aftermath
by Hamna Bano
SHARES
Pakistan Government have been busy and active in gathering all the numbers and day-to-day statistics of the Covid-19 crisis. And now they are coming up with a campaign against measles and rubella on international terms. In all of this, no one has cared to collect the figures of the dengue fever that is spreading like a wildfire in Punjab.
Indifference to dengue - The News International: Indifference to dengue The News International https://t.co/q24ywAQB69 pic.twitter.com/15OP3Vymln
— khalid rafiq (@KhalidRafiq133) October 19, 2021
The data that has been collected so far in the last few days has reported 19 deaths due to dengue and over 500 new cases have been recorded in the province. The current situation in the hospitals shows the actual picture of the terrible times these days. The beds reserved for the covid patients are now been handed over to the ones suffering from the dengue virus.
A field Hospital has also been set up at the Expo Center Lahore. This virus is problematic especially because of the presence of all four sero-types of it. The mosquito that is responsible for spreading dengue is found everywhere and the disapproving figures have pointed out that the main reason behind it roaming free is the lack of spraying this year. The sprays not happening at the right time has led to a crisis of gigantic proportions with a number of people grieving in their homes.
The dengue outbreaks have affected Pakistan since1994, the worst one was in 2019. It took 79 lives and affected 50,000 people in totality. The government, like in the past, has failed to take any effective measures to deal with what is a major health crisis in need of the most immediate attention. There is enough manpower to at least collect data of the people who are suffering from the disease.
Someone in the ministry or the relevant position has to answer why there is no record or number being maintained of the ones suffering.
