On October 19, 2022, VFAHT-DUHS arranged a “Dengue Fever Awareness Session” at Kiran Foundation, Karachi. The volunteers discussed the spread of the disease, its symptoms, complications, and methods that an individual could take to protect themselves against dengue. The presentation was followed by an interactive session in which the audience actively took part. The volunteers were able to bust myths and misconceptions regarding dengue such as whether every mosquito bite could lead to dengue, whether the use of papaya leaf extract was a form of treatment and how it affected some individuals by causing severe diarrhea and further deteriorating their health. There were a lot of questions about aspirin and ibuprofen use and a large part of the audience shared their experience of having serious consequences due to the regular use of these medications.
Toward the end of the session, a quiz was conducted and mosquito coils (packs of 10) and small repellent bottles were distributed to everyone in the audience and the management team.