rawalpindi-A man died of dengue virus in Holy Family Hospital while two other dengue patients were moved to intensive care unit in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, sources said on Tuesday.
Another 35-year-old man Imran Taj and an unidentified woman died of dengue fever in Christian Colony in Fatima Town near Soan.
The man who died at Holy Family Hospital was identified as Rashid Khan, resident of Soan Garden, said the sources. According to sources, the family of Rashid Khan brought him in HFH dengue ward two days ago with complaints of high fever, headache, joint pains and vomiting. The doctors took blood samples of the patient and conducted serology declaring him dengue positive, the sources said. So far, 9 patients have died due to dengue virus in the city. However, the district government and health authorities claimed that 6 people had died in the district.
Meanwhile, 376 more dengue patients landed in BBH and DHQ hospitals, putting the administrations and health department into huge troubles.
In BBH, 180 patients have been declared as dengue positive whereas results of 27 are awaited, they said. They added that the ratio of dengue positive patients is 197 in DHQ Hospital in Raja Bazaar.
Shortage of beds and staff and other equipment in the allied hospitals is hampering proper treatment of dengue patients.
Sources in the DHQ Hospital said that the hospital had the capacity for only 93 patients whereas bed occupancy rate is 180. “Many patients sharing a bed due to shortage and less space in the hospital,” they said.
The hospitals have very less numbers of doctors and paramedics which are not enough to tackle the big influx of patients in the allied hospitals.
“At least 200 more beds are required to cure the dengue affected patients,” a lady doctor to The Nation on condition of anonymity. She said the high up of allied hospitals called the staff working in Basic and Rural Health Centres to assist the doctors curing dengue patients. She said the doctors are making utmost efforts to provide quality health facilities to dengue affected patients.
Provincial Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid did not respond to queries sent by this correspondent regarding bed shortage in the allied hospitals on her cell number.
On the other hand, ADC Saima Younus and MS BBH held meetings separately to review arrangements made by the health department and the administration to tackle the influx of dengue patients. ACs and senior and junior doctors attended the meetings.
FDE beefs up measures to
control dengue virus: DG
Federal Directorate of Education on directives of Islamabad Capital Territory administration beefed up measures to control break out of fatal dengue virus in the public-sector schools.
In this regard, the FDE has already launched an awareness campaign among the students of its schools and colleges, said Director General Syed Umair Javed on Tuesday. He said that the students were being advised to wear proper uniform with full length sleeves shirts and trousers while coming to schools in order to prevent dengue mosquito bites.
He said that the principals of the 423 schools and colleges under FDE had been directed to make proper cleanliness arrangements in their educational institutions. He said that special awareness and education lectures were also being arranged in different educational institutions to create awareness among the students about dengue fever, larvae breeding and its eradication measures.
The DG said, “An alert through a circular by the Directorate of Health Services, Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation has been issued to the schools and colleges being administered by the FDE for prevention and control of dengue fever.”
When contacted, Focal Person Dengue Control Cell Dr Abdul Sattar said that the educational institutions were advised to continue ‘Zero Period’ strategy to prevent from dengue fever. In this period, the students are imparted awareness by the FDE officials about steps to control dengue larvae breeding and manage adequate facilities to avoid its serious impacts in the schools as well as at their homes, he added. He said that for the first time, teachers were also awarding assignments to the students to waste the stagnant water in the schools. The schools administrations, he noted, were making efforts at their own under which the breeding of Dengue mosquito larvae were being controlled. Dr Abdul Sattar said that a number of school and colleges have approached ICT Administration regarding measures to control the virus. In case of any emergency, the schools administration will contact the concerned authorities. Moreover, anti-dengue spray is being sprinkled in the schools, and colleges on the demand of the administration, he added.