Dengue Cases Continue To Rise in Islamabad, Pindi

News Desk

Islamabad/ Rawalpindi: As many as 80 new dengue cases are reported in the federal capital and 69 more cases in Rawalpindi, raising the number of confirmed patients to 3,423 and 3,174 in the current season, respectively. So far, seven deaths have been reported in Islamabad.

District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control (DCEPC) Dr Sajjad Mehmood said that among the new cases, 28 patients had arrived from Potohar own urban area, 17 from Municipal Corporation, Rawalpindi, 13 from Rawalpindi Cantonment, seven from Chaklala cantonment, four from Potohar rural, three from Taxila Cantonment, and one of each from Taxila rural, Kallar Syeda and Gujjar Khan.

According to District Health Officer Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia, 44 cases were reported from the capital’s rural areas, raising the tally of total number cases to 2004, while 36 cases were reported from the urban areas with a total of 1,419 cases. He informed that the highest number of confirmed cases was reported from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) during the last 24 hours, which were 31.

PIMS Director Dr Khalid Masood informed that the hospital has decided to allot more wards for the dengue patients as the number of cases kept rising. To accommodate the influx of dengue patients at PIMS, about 120 beds are being set aside.

Dr Khalid advised the people to take extra caution during the high-risk dengue season, particularly at the time of sunrise and sunset when dengue mosquito activity is highest.

Keeping in view of constantly increasing dengue cases, National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHSRC) Minister Abdul Qadir Patel directed the health officials to look into the rise in dengue cases and prepare a comprehensive plan to contain the illness.

Patel also directed the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Islamabad team to take action against those laboratories which were charging high rates of dengue tests in the capital, and those pharmacies which were involved in the storage of Paracetamol.

Abdul Qadir also asked the civic bodies to undertake frequent fogging in vulnerable areas. He appealed to people to take precautionary measures to reduce mosquito bites by wearing full-sleeve shirts and long dresses to cover themselves and using repellents, coils and electric vapour mats.

Minister Qadir has instructed the health staff to ensure that the SOPs are followed in order to avoid further spread of the disease.

According to the Minister, information, education and communication activities have been planned in which health workers would visit vulnerable areas to raise awareness about inspecting stagnant water, which serves as a mosquito breeding ground.

Dengue fever is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks. However, the number of recorded dengue cases is much greater in 2022 (between January and September) as compared to the same period during the four previous years.

Between 1 January and 27 September 2022, a total of 25 932 confirmed dengue cases and 62 deaths (CFR 0.25%) were reported in Pakistan, with 74 percent of these cases reported in the month of September alone. The current surge in cases follows unprecedented flooding that began in mid-June 2022. Additional information from APP