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Pakistan (November 2006)

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl

Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Health secy confirms 2,350 dengue patients in country
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=30277​

ISLAMABAD: There are 2,350 patients, including 741 positive cases, with symptoms similar to Dengue Fever, admitted in different hospitals across the country.

Talking to Geo TV on Wednesday, Secretary Health Syed Anwar Mahmood said that country had no shortage of dengue fever diagnostic kits and added that as many as 1,000 more diagnostic kits would be made available to meet emergency in the country, while more kits were being bought in collaboration with WHO.

The health secretary stated that there were 31 deaths from the disease, of which 30 were reported from Sindh, one was from the NWFP and no death had been reported from other parts of the country so far.

By Wednesday evening the total number of positive cases in Islamabad and Rawalpindi remained 95; 55 in different hospitals of Rawalpindi and 41 in Islamabad.

The health secretary also informed that kits and machines of Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever (DHF) items/equipments have already been exempted from Customs duty and sales tax for ensuring affordable availability.

?All patients of the virus are being actively taken care of,? Syed Anwar Mahmood said and advised people not to become panic, as the virus was curable and its threat had been successfully contained from Pakistan. He said that spray of vulnerable areas was being ensured.

Meanwhile, Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS) of Nishtar Hospital Multan, Dr Mona Awan said on Wednesday that a patient, Muhammad Ilyas, suspected to have dengue fever had been admitted to the emergency ward late on Tuesday.

She said a specimen of his blood had been sent for analysis to National Institute of Health, Islamabad. She said the patient was under treatment and was now in stable condition.

Doctors observed that there no vaccine for dengue fever had been invented and prevention was the only effective remedy. The water ponds, which are the breeding sites for dengue-causing mosquitoes, must be sprayed without delay, they added.​
 
Re: Pakistan (November 2006)

Viral rhinopharyngitis hits city
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=30297
Editor-in-Chief: Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman

KARACHI:

The city is now faced with a threat of new kind of seasonal viral disease known as viral rhinopharyngitis.

The general symptoms of this disease are similar to that of dengue fever.

ENT Expert and general secretary of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Qaiser Sajjad, said that the rhinopharyngitis was inflammation of the nasal and pharyngealmucous membranes, caused by a virus.

He said that due to similarity of symptoms many patients of viral rhinopharyngitis were mistakenly considering this disease as dengue fever.

He pointed out that the general symptom of viral rhinopharyngitis is fever, which sometimes turn into high-grade fever, nasal obstruction, headache, body ache, runny nose, soar throat and other flue like symptoms.

Qaiser said that 50 to 60 per cent patients with these symptoms in Karachi were in fact suffering from viral rhinopharyngitis and not by dengue fever and added that this is a seasonal disease and it would end when the weather will completely change into winter.

He said that due to the similarity of symptoms, this disease was creating confusion and panic amongst the patients and their families.

He pointed out that viral rhinopharyngitis is not a deadly disease like dengue fever.

Qaiser Sajjad advised the viral rhinopharyngitis patients to take a complete rest and consume water and liquids in large quantities.

He added that the use of antibiotics should be strictly avoided, as this is a viral and not a bacterial disease.

He said that the patients should be treated symptomatically and antipyretic and analgesic drugs could be used to relieve fever and body pain.

He suggested that the patients should take nutritious homemade diet and avoid eating outdoors and should restrict themselves from taking cold and chilled drinks.

Dr Qaiser was of the view that kids were the main targets of viral rhinopharyngitis due to their lower immunity level. He asked the parents to keep their children away from ice-made things like ice-lollies (Gola-Gunda) and substandard cold drinks.

He said that extra care should be taken to avoid spread of this disease amongst the kids.

Qaiser advised that in case of high-grade fever, the patient should be referred to a qualified medical practitioner and in case of complexities; an expert ENT doctor should be contacted.

He urged the health departments of provincial and city governments to raise awareness amongst the citizens regarding the precautionary measures against this viral disease.

He also asked the doctors to be vigilant in diagnosis of viral rhinopharyngitis and not to confuse it with the dengue fever due to the similarity of general symptoms.​
 
Re: Pakistan (November 2006)

Pakistani health officials warned not to divulge dengue statistics
http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=15834


The Pakistani government has strictly warned health officials in Islamabad not to issue statements or distribute information regarding the thirty five deaths following viral dengue fever in various parts of Pakistan..

Anonymous sources from the department of Health divulged to media that the health department has been issued a circular forbidding any doctor or nurse from sharing or divulging any news related to the dengue fever outbreak there, which has spiraled out of control this yeartaking the death toll to 35.

WHO has announced that dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever is endemic in Pakistan, with occasional outbreaks reported in previous years. Dengue is more commonly found in South East Asia, but this year, it has ravaged Indian subcontinent and scores of people were hospitalised and many lives were lost to this deadly viral fever which is supposed to be a self limiting disease with a mortality rate lesser than 1%.

Source-Medindia
MST

Medindia on Dengue fever
Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is an arbovirus disease of the Genus Flavivirus. The disease is caused by one of four closely related, but antigenically distinct, virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4).

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