KARACHI - Director Health Services, Karachi, Dr Muhammad Taufiq on Monday said there was no epidemic of chikungunya in Karachi while no death was reported from this viral fever from any part of the city.
Addressing a press conference at Directorate of Health Services Karachi, Dr Taufiq said some sections of media reported that chikungunya was claiming lives of citizens, and it has become epidemic in some areas of Malir and Bin Qasim. He categorically denied any death due to chikungunya. He explained that chikungunya is viral disease but it is rarely fatal. He said the death rate of the disease-affected people is less than one per cent.
Program Manager, Prevention and Control Program for Dengue for Sindh, Dr Abdul Rashid, Director Malaria Control Program Sindh Dr Naheed Jamali, Dr Syed Qamar Abbas, Dr Kamran Rizvi, Dr Arif Niaz, Dr Asif Syed and District Health Officers (DHOs) were also present.
Director Health informed that a total 4,138 chikungunya suspected cases have been surfaced in Sindh province so far; out of them 3,462 were reported from Karachi and 675 from other parts of the province. He said 45 samples were tested positive out of 62 blood samples sent to National Institutes of Health (NIH) for investigation.
He said the dengue is a deadly disease but chikungunya is rarely fatal. He explained that chikungunya is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes and the major symptoms include high fever, joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue.
He feared that cases of malaria, dengue, chikungunya and other vector born-diseases can go up any time in the city, as Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) administration is not maintaining cleanliness and sewerage system of the city while the heaps of garbage can also be seen in city streets.
Dr Taufiq asked media to stop airing false and fabricated news about chikungunya. He said coordinated efforts are needed from all stakeholders to save people from malaria, dengue and chikunguna threats in future.
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