Dengue

Pakistani authorities have declared a health emergency in the Swat valley after an outbreak of dengue fever.

Pakistani authorities have declared a health emergency in the Swat valley after an outbreak of dengue fever.

The virus is spread by mosquitoes which breed in stagnant water.

More than 6,000 people have been infected with the potentially deadly virus since August.

Early treatment is essential but women are not getting the same treatment as men.

One of them was Rohaib Khan’s wife.

At the funeral, people whisper in his ear that he should re-marry soon because he is young.
 
“After a hard struggle we found a hospital bed but it was on the foot path. I struggled to find a doctor to treat my wife. We took her to other hospital and I thought my wife would be cured but she died at midnight.”

She left behind two daughter; 5 year Aafiya and 14 months old Huda Rohaib.

Huda has dengue fever too.

Huda Rohaib weeps when he comes out of home while Aafiya always sits in her father lap when he is home.

“Losing my wife is great loss but I believe man is helpless and can’t do anything except the will of God.  Getting medical help treatment is only to console and satisfy ourselves.”

Amjad Ali Burhan Khail is Rohaib’s cousin.

He was recently discharged from hospital after treatment for dengue.

“We commit many sins daily and we all are full of sins... inflation in prices. There is no justice and everyone is cruel to others so God has imposed His curse in form of dengue fever.”

This is a widely held view here.

But authorities and scientists say the blame should be pointed at the tyre trade.

It is thought that infected mosquito larvae were carried from Lahore in water inside old tyres. 

An outbreak in Lahore in September 2011 killed 362 people and infected more than 20,000.

One of the volunteers has started fuming the main city in Swat valley free of charge to try and stop the infection from spreading.

Kausar and her husband sleep under-open sky in home in summer.

They have dengue fever and they both admitted in hospital for a week.

“I have three children and God will give me chance to support my children because no one will look after them if I would die.”

But 46-year-old Rahmat Bibi is not so lucky.

The doctor said her family brought her to the hospital too late.

70 % of admitted dengue patients are male.

And they say that women are least affected only because they cover their bodies completely.

But it’s also likely that they do not allow women to get treatment at the hospital.

Yasser Ali is a manager in a hotel in Swat.

He was discharged a day before from hospital and is here to see relatives who are getting treated.

“My whole family is dengue affected. But we don’t bring the female members of the family to hospital. The women have to feed their children so they can be treated better in the home rather than hospitals.

Q: If there is better treatment at home then why did you get treated at the hospital?

“I can’t say anything about it. I don’t want to reply.”

The women of Swat Valley are likely to get some relief when the winter comes.

Health officials say when the weather cools dengue carrying mosquitoes will die.

Professor Dr Taj Muhammad Khan is the head of Saidu Teaching Hospital.

“Mosquitoes carrying dengue cannot survive in temperatures below 16 Celsius. So the situation will be better after 15th October because the temperature will go down.”