ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR/KARACHI/QUETTA/LAHORE: Viral outbreaks have hit major cities in the country, including urban centres reporting an increase in dengue cases that has been accompanied by a shortage in medicines.

The twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi reported close to 100 cases of dengue fever in the last 24 hours.

With 55 new cases in the last 24 hours, the number of cases in the capital is now at 668. Three deaths have been reported so far in the city. In neighbouring Rawalpindi, 43 cases were admitted to hospitals with dengue.

There have been complaints regarding the non-availability of medicines pertaining to fever. Citizens have said that medicines are not available in urban as well as rural centres.

The Ministry of Health has rebuked claims that stopping the production of fever medicines as wrong and baseless. And also explained that checking is being done to ensure unstoppable supply of all important medicines.

PESHAWAR & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Similar reports are coming from Peshawar, where a large number of cases of dengue, malaria, and typhoid have been reported. In the last seven days, Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital reported 2,424 caes of malaria, 532 cases of typhoid and 90 cases of dengue.

The rise in cases has been accompanied by a shortage in medication for fever and viral diseases.

Peshawar residents told Aaj News that they have been going from one pharmcy to the next in search of medicines. “It is mostly unavailable. Even in places where medicines are available, they are being sold at twice the listed price.”

Those running pharmacies and chemists say that the price increase is due to supply chain disruption caused by the floods. They claimed this disruption was artificial while blaming hoarders and profiteers for the shortage and urged that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) to ensure availability.

Sindh

In Sindh, the devastation caused by the floods has been accompanied by a viral outbreak although it is Karachi that has reported a disproportionately high number of cases.

In the last 24 hours, 113 new cases were reported, with 107 of those cases reported from Karachi.

The Sindh Health Department puts the number of cases this year close to 3,000, of which over 2,500 were reported in Karachi. At least 30 people have died so far due to dengue viral infection at seven public and private health facilities in Karachi following an unprecedented surge in the vector-borne disease cases during the last six weeks, officials and experts confirmed.

Abbasi Shaheed hospital is receiving 15-20 cases daily. A nurse told Aaj News that patients usually come in with high-grade fever and body aches.

Dr Naeem Ul Kamar, the medical superintendent at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital urged people to wear full sleeves to prevent bites and to apply mosquito repellant.

He also called for spraying insecticides in indoor and outdoor areas to control the outbreak, particularly in areas where overflowing sewage and stagnant rainwater is still a common sight.

Balochistan

Dengue cases have been reported from at least three districts in Balochistan, with 66 cases reported in Kech and eight in Gwadar in the last week. This takes the total number of cases this year in Balochistan to 2,974. Of these, the overwhelming majority have been reported from Kech (2,629).

Another 67 cases were reported in Lasbela but they weren’t part of the weekly update created by the World Heath Organisation’s local office in coordination with the provincial public health department.

The provincial health department said that the patients were provided treatment including medication in their respective districts. “The condition of the affected patients is satisfactory,” it added.

However, there have been reports that important medication have gone missing at pharmacies in Quetta. It has resulted in an increase in prices, with a strip of panadol (paracetamol) selling for Rs50 to Rs100 instead of the usual Rs20.

Naseebullah, who is the president of the local chemists association, said the decision to increase prices was made by manufacturers. “Every day we receive new rates. The companies say that raw materials for medicines have become expensive due to the increase in the exchange rate of the dollar.”

Jhal Magsi situation

A high number of fever and malaria cases have been reported from the flood-affected areas of Jhal Magsi district.

However, there are no diagnostic centres in this district in central Balochistan with around 150,000 people. This means it cannot be said with certainty that the cases are of dengue.

Reports trickling in from the area suggest that high fever is rampant with concerns that it could have dangerous consequences if there is a dengue outbreak in the district that remains inaccessible and without any health infrastructure to speak of.