Dengue virus has gone out of control all across the country. In Rawalpindi 70 more patients are diagnosed with the virus during last 24 hours while the number of effectees has reached over 2,000. Another 18 cases of Dengue have also been reported in Karachi where contract workers of Dengue Elimination Program have not received salaries for four months. In Rawalpindi, presently there are 188 patients are being treated at Benazir Hospital; 160 at Holy Family hospital and patients are also under treatment at District hospital. In all, the number of Dengue patients in Rawalpindi has reached to 2,030. Number of Dengue patients in Sndh has reached to 2,400 and according to Dengue Surveillance over 200 additional cases have been reported this week at government and private hospitals while during last 24 hours 18 new patients have been reported. Meanwhile, Rs 39 million Anti-Dengue Program is not a priority in Sindh and despite according Dengue Surveillance Program Project. Nowhere is this more in evidence than Sindh, where various government departments and agencies have yet again displayed their serial crass foolishness in the face of an onslaught by mosquitoes. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and the health department have failed again to work together and the spraying campaign has been ‘on hold’ — at the height of the dengue season — for the last two weeks. Sterile meetings — that have no outcome of any worth — are held. Meanwhile, there have been 2,424 cases of dengue registered from different parts of Karachi this year, but medical experts dispute this saying that the figure is double that. The entire fiasco revolves around a simple lack of money being provided for fuel. It is exasperating to learn that those involved actually admit that they are unable to do the necessary coordination that would restart the spraying progamme. Public servants have become a blight on the populations that they are supposed to serve. In the parallel reality that is Karachi, nobody turns a hair. In the real world, heads would roll. Dengue will come and go as it always does, untouched by modern science.
pk.shafaqna.com
