A day after five government agencies met to discuss ways to combat an outbreak of dengue fever – which has already infected hundreds of people - officials from the mayoralty and the health affairs department started blaming each other for the situation. The meeting took place Saturday and was meant to come up with solutions; instead a war of words has broken out between officials from the two government bodies. Over 200 people contracted the disease over the past two weeks. A total of 750 cases over the past 16 weeks have been confirmed. The Directorate of Health Affairs accused the mayoralty of ignoring its warning that it should deal with the breeding grounds of disease carriers. The mayoralty replied that the information provided by Health Affairs officials did not accurately reflect the magnitude of the problem, which affected the response to the disease. Bassam Akhdhar, member of the Municipal Council in Jeddah, said that he held the Ministry of Health and the mayoralty accountable for the increase in dengue fever cases. He also accused cleaning companies in Jeddah for not cleaning up heaps of garbage in southern and central Jeddah. He said it was a common sight to see the dirt and waste around the buildings and residential areas in these districts. He claimed that the emergency plan was “nothing but ink on paper” because it was not being implemented. He also expressed doubts about the authenticity and accuracy of the information provided by the Ministry of Health. He said this alleged inaccurate information aggravated the problem in Jeddah and was a reflection of the weak response to combating the disease. He called on the Directorate of Health Affairs and Jeddah Mayoralty to stop blaming each other because this will not solve the problem. He said residents were the ones suffering.
