MAKKAH: Government officials in Makkah have vowed to prevent any outbreak of dengue fever in the city after a number of suspected cases arrived at the city’s hospitals, causing concern among both Saudi and foreign residents.
“My wife got the dreadful fever. My children and me have had a very difficult time because of this. Thank God, she has miraculously recovered but shouldn’t the municipality, the Health Department and the Ministry of Agriculture be doing something to combat the disease?” said Muhammad Saleh, a Saudi.
“What arrangements have they made to assure us that they are serious in curbing the spread of the disease?” he added.
Saleh said he has fumigated his house at his own expense despite not being well off. He added that the municipality’s fumigation teams often ignore certain districts.
Hashim Al-Matrafi said his 56-year-old aunt had fever for three days and was kept at the emergency ward of a hospital in Al-Shisha district. She later learned she had dengue fever when she was taken to King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Al-Zahir district.
“Four cases of dengue fever have been detected in Al-Omdah district near Al-Nour Mount where I live. The authorities responsible for combating the fever never visit the area,” he added.
Al-Matrafi said he is forced to buy pesticides at his own expense when this is the responsibility of the municipality and the Health Department. “I spent a lot of money on fighting mosquitoes in my house while the government has a special budget for this,” he said.
Tawifiq Wasl said his 22-year-old wife, who is pregnant, is currently in intensive care with dengue fever. “I was worried she might lose the baby. She is six months into her pregnancy,” he added.
Several private hospitals in Makkah could not diagnose why his wife had high temperature. At the Maternity and Children’s Hospital later it was discovered that she had dengue fever. “My wife is now in intensive care, she is lying almost unconscious,” he said.
Wasl said the disease was frightening and a threat to people’s lives. He asked the concerned officials to do their best to eliminate the source of the disease.
Wasl’s brother-in-law, Khamis Al-Malki, said he was waiting for a miracle to save his sister.
On his part, Makkah Mayor Osama Al-Bar said the fears of a dengue outbreak were not justified. “The situation is not so bad. We are doing all that we can to wipe out mosquitoes from the city,” he said.
Faiq Hussein, spokesman for the Health Department, admitted that some people in Makkah had caught the disease but other so-called cases were doubtful. He said field teams were fumigating houses and streets in Makkah in order to prevent an outbreak.
