News @ 3 - 5th May 2017

KARACHI: A large number of the cases of mosquito disease Chikungunya being reported at Karachi’s government and privately owned hospitals, ARY News reported on Friday.

The visiting team of World Health Organization (WHO) experts, has concluded its visit of the city’s hospitals and affected neighborhoods and submitted a guideline of the measures to Sindh health department to tackle the rising numbers of Chikungunya and Dengue cases.

The WHO team was arrived in Karachi to provide assistance to the health authorities fighting the spread of Chikungunya disease in the metropolis.

The government of Sindh had sought the WHO assistance to fight Chikungunya disease in Karachi where it is rapidly spreading particularly in the city’s areas like Orangi Town, Malir, Bin Qasim, Ibrahim Hyderi, Korangi, Lyari, Surjani Town, and Keamari.

According to reports, medical tests have confirmed 39 new cases of Chikungunya at Sindh Government Hospital Ibrahim Haidery and 18 positive cases at Saudabad Hospital.

The blood samples of these patients were sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad to test Chikungunya infection, which were found positive, hospital officials said.

Blood samples of more patients will be sent to NIH Islamabad to diagnose the disease, AMS Ibrahim Haidery hospital said.

Previously, WHO – in collaboration with the ministry of national health services, regulations and coordination of Pakistan – had conducted an intensive house-to-house investigation for over few weeks to probe the causes of Chikungunya fever outbreak in Balochistan.

The investigation was carried in Gwadar city in Balochistan. The number of suspected Chikungunya cases reported in Balochistan as of 19 April stands at 1962. A total of 28 blood samples have tested positive for chikungunya.

While in Sindh, despite the precautionary steps taken to counter the viral infection from getting spread, a rise has been noted catching provincial government attention towards it which sought assistance of the international health organization.

In light of samples collected from different hospitals and medical centres for test, the doctors concluded the symptoms are of a mosquito-borne viral disease that causes fever and severe joint pain which needs to be controlled.