Karachi needs Fumigation Drives immediately

An alarming situation which is imminent in Karachi is the forays of mosquito-borne diseases when monsoon would formally over in coming days. That demands immediate fumigation drive across the city where already a series of such diseases from chikungunya to dengue and malaria are stalking in hospitals. And, according to a news report in Daily DAWN dated August 22, 2017, 14000 cases of malaria have already been reported this year so far in Sindh including Karachi compared to 30,000 total of last year. The current status of city' wastes and garbage is an open secret.

The rise of numbers of patients suffering from viral diseases despite earlier attempts of fumigation this year is hard to digest. So far things that have been reported are; a city-wide fumigation drive was earlier kicked off by the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on the orders of the city Mayor Waseem Akhtar that ran from July 4 to 17, 2017, in which 50 municipal vehicles had to spray insecticides district-wise in all the union councils. However, citizens are witnessed they really saw any vehicle in operation in their areas fumigating sprays.

Earlier in the month of February this year, the Sindh Minister of Local Government Jam Khan Shoro directed the local government officials to begin campaign for "fumigation in the capital city including the adjoining Katachi Abadis, that had to cover all the localities of the city with focus of spray on garbage, dumps, nullahs, manholes, open plots and water ponds." However, in practice that campaign was directed at the Malir District where thousands of cases of chikungunya had been reported one and half month ago that even invited WHO intervention to control the disease.

Although, there is also a Dengue Prevention and Control Program active in city but general fumigation is not their responsibility. The Program is mainly limited to awareness campaigns and diagnosis while prevention and treatment is yet to be controlled. However, it is universally stressed that timely eradication of mosquitoes breeding grounds is the finest way which can limit and control the viral mosquitoes-borne diseases and fumigation across the metro is the answer to eradicate these grounds. So it is time for KMC and relative Cantonments to take action before situation would get worse.  

Also, if no efforts are made to spray fumigation timely, then -- apart from dengue, malaria and chikungunya --  the threat of the emergence of the Zika virus and yellow fever would also hover on city. God forbids. 

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Editorial, Infocus