NOWSHERA: Several dengue cases have surfaced in Nowshera due to negligence of the local administration.
TNN correspondent reported that the administrations of Qazi Hussain Ahmed Medical Complex and District Headquarters Hospital have confirmed 21 new dengue cases in the district. Dengue virus cases were confirmed in Nowshera, but most of the patients have shifted of Peshawar for treatment.
A patient from Shedo area of Nowshera said dengue virus was found in his blood samples, but there is no separate ward for treatment of dengue patients in Qazi Hussain Ahmed Medical Complex Nowshera due to which the patients are facing difficulties.
No hospital in Nowhsera has separate ward for treatment of dengue patients. Most of such patients are referred to Peshawar and some of them also go to Islamabad for proper treatment facilities.
The people of the district have criticised the administration for its failure to control the disease and demanded that fumigation must be carried out to control the further spread of the disease.
Earlier, two students from Shedo area of Nowshera, who were studying in a madrassa in Swan area of Rawalpindi, came for tests. One of the students was diagnosed with dengue virus, while the tests of the other student were clear. The parents of the infected students are extremely worried as there are no proper treatment facilities in the hospitals of Nowshera.
TNN correspondent tried to take version of the district administration on the issue, but no response was received.
Dengue virus, which killed over 60 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last year, has raised its ugly head again as several cases are being reported on daily basis.
With decrease in temperature the number of mosquitoes is increasing especially in areas with greenery and stagnant water. Stagnant water offers best breeding places for Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmit the viruses that cause dengue fever. According to media reports, dengue fever is spreading rapidly in the rural areas of Peshawar district where at least 1,200 cases have been confirmed. The spread rate of the fever is increasing to epidemic levels.
Lack of coordinated efforts by all the relevant departments, ignorance of the people and apathy of the government agencies even when the Health Department issued a timely advisory are the main reasons for the spread of the fever.
