Revista de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento em Educação em Saúde

Harmful Aspects of Quackery Practices Concerning Dengue Fever Prevalence among Inhabitants in Sindh Pakistan

Abstract

Rehan Khan

Background: In this report the Directorate of anti-quackery of the Sindh Healthcare Commission (DAQ-SHCC), Pakistan aims to resonate with the community the impact of inadequate knowledge of illegitimate medical practitioners and the palliative measures taken by them to cure probable dengue patients in the beginning at the onset of fever and the large dosage of analgesics (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agents) being prescribed and running no diagnostic test may lead to potentially dangerous hemorrhagic fever and shock syndrome which can cause an increase in the fatality rate. Dengue fever has recently swept the entire Pakistan and put the state on high alert. From July 2019 to November 2019 (as of 12th November) a record has set that seems to cross 47,120 dengue fever cases together with 75 casualties. While 12,053 (25.57%) cases have only been reported from Sindh, which is the highest number reported among all the provinces of Pakistan. We have therefore been dynamically involved in exploring the role of quacks in the prevalence of dengue infection across Sindh.

Materials and Methods: A quasi experimental study regarding dengue fever and its prevalence prompted by quackery's burgeoning, have been carried out by the DAQ-SHCC head office located in Karachi, Pakistan. For this purpose, the DAQ-SHCC inspection teams were deliberated to conduct dengue knowledge and management-based interviews in all the divisions of Sindh; Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Mirpurkhas and Larkana, with two hundred and twenty identified quacks about their malpractices and especially the analgesics those were being prescribed to the probable dengue infected people.

Results: Two hundred and twenty identified quacks were probed for their malpractices to the probable dengue patients in the different divisions of Sindh. Of the total, 33.33% (40) were only interviewed from Karachi division, while 13.33% (16) from Sukkur division, 9.99% (12) from Larkana, 9.99% (12) from Mirpur Khas, 16.65% (20) from Shaheed Benazirabad and 16.65% (20) from Hyderabad division. It was observed that quacks were not even aware of the warning signs of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome and that leucopenia is a diagnostic criterion for dengue fever while thrombocytopenia is a criterion for diagnosing Dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Conclusion: The results presented in this study showed that the quack’s knowledge about preventive measures of dengue and desired screening tests is significantly lower.