Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman has indicated at least a 50% surge in the cases of dengue fever after the recent monsoon rains in the country, especially in Karachi where hundreds of dengue patients are being admitted to hospitals on a daily basis.

The minister warned that more expected rains could be detrimental to the relief and rehabilitation process going on in the flood-hit areas.

Rehman expressed these views at a press conference in Islamabad, where she also spoke about the worsening situation in Sindh due to outbreak of water and vector-borne diseases.

Speaking of the flood situation at rivers, she said that the Indus River at the Kotri Barrage was at high flood level with an inflow of more than 600,000 cusecs of water, posing a serious threat to the surrounding areas.

“It is unfortunate that all over social media and other public platforms, the opposition is actively exhorting all international supporters to not give aid or support via anyone but their own PTI sources. Such active promotion of public disunity in Pakistan’s worse hour of crisis is a shocking expose of the thinking behind the divisive politics being promoted," she deplored.

Discussing the looming health crisis in the flooded areas, the climate change minister said floods had brought the menace of water and vector-borne diseases such as dengue and cholera.

“Karachi is seeing an outbreak of dengue while 584,246 people are in camps throughout the country; a health crisis could wreak havoc if it goes unchecked,” she said.