Monsoon Will Bring More Dengue, Leishmaniasis Cases: Sindh Health Minister

Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho has said that the upcoming monsoon season will lead to a rise in vector-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria, and leishmaniasis.

She instructed the health department for better precautionary measures and monitoring at a meeting on Thursday.

This year overall 170 cases of dengue have so far been reported in Sindh. Karachi reported the highest 155 cases, whereas six cases were reported in Hyderabad, five in Mirpurkhas, two in Sukkur, and one each in Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad.

The provincial health minister instructed district health officers to increase monitoring and compile cases reported from both private and public labs. The number of public diagnostic centers would be increased to 1,125.

A strategy for the dengue awareness campaign needs to be prepared stated by Dr. Pechuho. The services of lady health workers would also be availed to create more awareness about dengue prevention, she added.
Fumigation teams have been instructed to disinfect dengue hotspots. For this purpose, under-construction buildings and tire shops need to be targeted to get rid of dengue larvae.

Last year, there had been a 13% rise in malaria cases. Most cases were from Karachi’s District East. The Sindh health minister directed the health secretary to contact the Global Fund to finance more Leishmaniasis.

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease that spreads through sandflies. According to the WHO, the disease is caused by Leishmania parasites which are spread by the bite of infected female sandflies.

But the people infected by the parasite, never develop any kind of sign or symptoms.

Dr. Pechuho stated that action was required to improve leishmaniasis control and treatment. Jacobabad reported the highest 321 cases in the province. Cases were also found in Jamshoro and Tharparkar.

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Whereas, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, more than 30,000 leishmaniasis cases were reported.
According to Dr. Pechuho, the World Health Organisation had to be contacted for 30,000 antimoniate meglumine injections for disease treatment.