A dengue patient died at the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, bringing the total number of fatalities to five in the city.Anwar Bibi, 49, was brought to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) on Wednesday suffering from dengue shock syndrome. She was shifted to HFH when her condition worsened and died on Thursday.HFH medical superintendent Dr Raja Shafique confirmed that the patient died on Thursday. BBH medical superintendent Dr Asif Qadir Mir told Dawn that the patient was admitted to the hospital and was shifted to HFH according to standard operation procedure (SOP). He said that all patients suffering from dengue shock syndrome were treated at HFH, which had better facilities. In Islamabad, PIMS treated 250 patients this season while number of dengue patients in Taxila and Wah Cantonment increased to 19. And reports from Karachi said Zubaida Apa, a veteran chef and cooking expert, is also suffering from dengue virus. This should be a serious cause for concern as dengue virus could not be controlled or checked despite tall claims by Federal and Provincial Governments over the last few years regarding effective measures for the purpose. The situation in Punjab is particularly worrisome as the Chief Minister is maintaining pressure on his administration to produce positive results but things have not improved just because there is focus on public relations and not on practical steps to handle the situation. This is mainly because of lack of accountability due to which the authorities concerned spend money but show no result. It is also a fact that the overall focus of the Government is more on polio than diseases like dengue and hepatitis that kill people in thousands every year. Apart from a massive awareness campaign, which is key to success in preventing occurrence of such diseases, the Government should also allocate more funds for prevention and treatment of these diseases. PCSIR is reported to have prepared syrup for treatment of dengue and there is need to ensure its availability for all affected people.
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