Alarm as dengue fever cases double in Karachi

KARACHI: As many as 403 people were diagnosed with dengue in the past 24 hours in Karachi, almost double the 202 cases reported the day before, data released by the Sindh health department showed on Saturday.

According to the provincial health department, the majority of these cases were reported in district East (116) followed by in Korangi (107), Central (72), South (61), Malir (26), West (12) and Keamari (nine).

A total of 2,145 cases of dengue fever cases were reported in Karachi this month. A further breakdown shows district East reported (842) cases followed by (431) in Central, South (377), Korangi (286), Malir (93), Keamari (64) and West (52).

In the rest of Sindh, 16 cases were reported in Hyderabad division, one in Larkana division, two in Sukkur division and four in Shaheed Benazirabad division.

Schools across Karachi have been asked to adopt new SOPs to deal with rising dengue and malaria cases, suspending assembly sessions for a month.

According to new SOPs issued by commissioner Karachi for schools, the PT and assembly sessions in all public and private educational institutes will remain suspended for a month.

As per the fresh guidelines, the students will be bound to wear full sleeve shirts while schools will be bound to conduct fumigation drive on a regular basis to deal with dengue and malaria spread.

Water-borne diseases spread among flood victims

Children and women are becoming more vulnerable as tens of thousands of people suffer from infectious and water-borne diseases in flood-hit Pakistan and the death toll from the inundation surpassed 1,500, according to government data and UNICEF.

As flood waters begin to recede, which officials say may take two to six months, the regions have become infested with diseases including malaria, dengue fever, diarrhoea and skin problems, the southern Sindh provincial government said in a report on Friday.

The Sindh report said more than 90,000 people were treated on Thursday alone in the province, which has been the hardest hit by the cataclysmic floods.