Is dengue virus more deadly this time?

A common message on social media is that this time Dengue Fever is very life-threatening, so any fever symptoms should be treated as dengue because by the time the diagnosis is made, the patient is already dead.

In this message, it is also emphasized that it should be spread as an ongoing charity so that people’s lives can be saved.

5,000 people have been diagnosed with dengue in Ketch district of Makran division in Pakistan while 14 patients have died while every city from Karachi to Khyber is witnessing a daily increase in dengue patients.

When Independent Urdu contacted Chief Executive Officer Rawalpindi Health Department Dr. Asif Arbab Khan Niazi in this regard, he said that four patients have died of dengue in Rawalpindi so far, which is very alarming that the dengue season is now on. are the beginnings of

Dengue is usually less dangerous for young people, but all three deaths this time are of young people. So far 960 dengue patients have been diagnosed in Rawalpindi, which may increase further.

At present, 300 beds have been allocated for dengue patients in various hospitals in Rawalpindi, which can be increased to 1,000.

He said that this time the patients who are coming to the hospitals have a lot of complications, one of the reasons is that they do not come for treatment on time and try to manage things with home remedies.

There are three levels of dengue fever. The first level is fever, the second level is called hemorrhagic in which the platelets decrease and the body starts bleeding.

The third stage is called shock syndrome, in which other organs of the body stop working.

He said that Chikungunya, West Nile or other viruses have not been confirmed in Rawalpindi yet. Their diagnostic facility is available only in National Institute of Health or Institute of Public Health Lahore.

He appealed to the public to take preventive measures against dengue.

The former caretaker health minister of Punjab, Dr. Jamal Nasir, while talking to Independent Urdu, claimed that dengue is not a big threat, but he termed it as a ‘political disease’ and said that dengue causes an average of 60 deaths in Pakistan every year. 2.5 million children die annually from diarrhea and pneumonia.

But since these deaths cannot be used for politics, the government does not even allocate funds to remedy these deaths.

Billions of rupees are spent every year on dengue larva checking, sprays, establishment of special wards in hospitals, purchase of medicines, medical supplies, advertisement and test kits.

One of its objectives is to keep people engaged in this work for two to four months, create an atmosphere of fear in them and then run a business in the name of dengue control.

For two months, the district administration of the government is only engaged in dengue control. A round of meetings and photo sessions ensue.

The media is also involved in this work because they too get paid to spread fear.

Dr. Jamal Nasir claimed that dengue is not a big problem but political and financial gains are made by making it a problem.

Apart from Pakistan, on the global level, from America to India, there are warnings about mosquitoes that their population has increased more than before and they are proving to be more deadly.

This week’s Time magazine has published a feature titled Getting More Dangerous? Are mosquitoes ge, which writes that mosquitoes have seriously affected the evening life in the United States and people are less likely to go out of their homes.

Some cities in Massachusetts have closed public parks and evening gatherings in the evening after a deadly virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which was previously rarely seen, has been found in mosquitoes.

Dr. Photini Sinnis, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, wrote that 38 states in the United States have reported twice as many cases of West Nile virus, a dangerous mosquito-borne virus, so far this year compared to 2022.

Experts say that one of the main reasons for the increase in the population of mosquitoes is climate change where there is a spread of cities.

The duration of temperate weather that is favorable for mosquito breeding is increasing worldwide. A single bottle of water can harbor hundreds of mosquito eggs.

A ward set up for dengue patients in Lahore on October 17, 2021 (AFP)

A female mosquito lives for 15 to 20 days. However, she can lay up to 1,000 eggs during this time.

In India, Pakistan’s neighbor, 40 million people are sickened by mosquitoes every year, and this year the number is estimated to be much higher. Cases are being reported.

India has also seen cases of some new dangerous mosquito-borne diseases this year, including West Nile and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).

80% of West Nile patients have fever, headache, severe body pain especially in joints, vomiting and diarrhea.

Symptoms of Eastern Equine Encephalitis include sudden onset of fever, chills, joint and muscle pain, while 30% of patients develop brain swelling, which leads to death.

At present, there are four dangerous viruses spread by mosquitoes around the world, in which dengue is the number one.

According to the latest issue of India Today, 12 million dengue cases have been reported worldwide this year, out of which more than 8,000 patients have died.

In second place is the Zika virus. It is also spread by mosquitoes. The virus first appeared in Uganda in 1947.

Its symptoms are similar to dengue fever, but its dangerous side is that it is transmitted from the pregnant mother to the baby, leaving the baby with a small head.

According to the World Health Organization, Zika virus first appeared in Pakistan in 1977. According to the Aga Khan University, Zika virus patients have appeared in Karachi in 2021 and 2022, while this year the disease has spread in the Indian city of Pune, where more than 80 patients have been diagnosed with this dangerous virus, many of whom have died. It’s done.

In view of this, Pakistan’s National Command and Operational Center has ordered strict monitoring of those coming and going at the borders. Chikungunya is also transmitted by mosquitoes, but it is not fatal.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Health last week issued an advisory warning about the spread of chikungunya across the country, with cases reported from Karachi and other parts of the country.

Its symptoms are similar to dengue and it takes eight to 12 days for the patient to recover.

Malaria It is a common mosquito-borne disease that, if not treated in time, can lead to kidney failure and the patient may even die and go into a coma.