Thousands of people in Asia have been struck by dengue fever in recent months. Philippines. Myanmar, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam are among the countries that have been significantly hit by this disease. Even Pakistan and India are in the grip of the worst dengue outbreak.
This situation has put medical services under strain all over the world. Hospitals are overwhelmed with thousands of people with symptoms like high fever, vomiting and joint pain. But unfortunately, there is no dedicated treatment for dengue virus.
Dengue victims are asked to take rest, drink plenty of fluids and take medication to reduce fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that 50 million new cases of dengue fever occur each year but even the number could be four times higher due to under reporting.
In Myanmar, 36,000 cases of dengue fever were recorded from January to September this year. It was 200 percent more than in the same period last year. This indicates that dengue is one of world’s fastest tropical diseases. There is a dire need for a long-term strategy to be derived at regional/international level to fight the potentially lethal disease.
SOHA NISAR,
Islamabad, November 19.