Pakistan: One more dengue death takes Sindh's official tally to 26

Islamabad, Nov 10 (IANS) A teenage girl died due to dengue fever at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre (SIDH&RC), taking the official death toll in the province since October to 26, local media reported on Monday.

The statistics released by the provincial Health Department revealed that the 19-year-old girl was a resident of Sindh's Korangi. Sources revealed that the victim had fits when she was taken to the hospital, the Dawn reported.

Speaking to Dawn, a senior doctor at SIDH&RC stated: "She reported to us with dengue encephalitis, a rare and severe complication of dengue fever," adding that the girl died a day after being admitted to the hospital.

He stated that the symptoms of dengue encephalitis included seizures, muscle weakness, confusion or disorientation, and altered consciousness or coma.

"Despite a drop in temperature, we are not seeing any decline in cases right now. I think we might have to wait until December to see a noticeable decline in cases in Karachi," the doctor said.

Official figures revealed that 727 patients, including 269 in Karachi and 458 in Hyderabad, tested positive for dengue fever in the past 24 hours.

"Currently, 271 patients are under treatment at government hospitals and 171 at private healthcare facilities. The provincial tally of cases has risen to 6,708 this month, while a total of 12,284 cases have been recorded this year," a Health Department statement said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has urged the government to declare a health emergency in the most affected parts of Sindh's Karachi and Hyderabad and start taking effective vector-control measures, as per the Dawn report.

The association demanded an independent audit of Sindh's dengue prevention and control programme and monitoring municipal services to find and hold the officials responsible for the deteriorating situation accountable.

"The dengue crisis is a man-made tragedy rooted in the systemic dysfunction of government bodies. The lack of political will to ensure sanitation, waste management, and timely and effective fumigation has turned our cities into breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito. Every death reported is a verdict on the failure of the local government and the provincial Health Department," it said. It also slammed delayed and ineffective fumigation and what it termed as a "collapse of municipal services".

--IANS

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