Dengue Retreats as Cooler Weather Arrives

News Desk

Rawalpindi: Dengue fever cases have witnessed a significant decline in Rawalpindi, with only one case reported in the past 24 hours, according to District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control (DCEPC) Dr Sajjad Mehmood.

The daily caseload has dropped from 50-60 cases in September to just one case in the past 24 hours

This sharp drop marks a welcome respite from the surge in cases observed earlier, with around 10 patients seeking medical attention daily in the past week. In comparison, the daily caseload in October and September stood at 10-20 and 50-60, respectively.

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Dr Sajjad attributes this decline to shifting weather patterns, particularly the drop in temperatures, which hinders the breeding and transmission of dengue mosquitoes.

Around 2,673 dengue fever cases were reported in Rawalpindi this year, compared to 2,471 in 2021 and 4,753 in 2022

He further emphasizes the importance of community-based preventive measures, including eliminating mosquito breeding grounds and using mosquito repellents, to sustain this downward trend.”This year, around 2,673 cases were brought to the district health facilities, while the number of cases was 2,471 in 2021 and 4,753 in 2022,” he added.

Health officials expect dengue cases to end in the coming days due to cooler weather, which is not suitable for mosquito survival

The health official said that in the coming days, the dengue cases would end as the weather turned cooler, which was not suitable for the survival of the dengue mosquito.

Meanwhile, health authorities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have intensified anti-dengue operations as the twin cities continue to report a surge in cases amid ongoing seasonal transmission.

According to the District Health Authority (DHA) Rawalpindi, 35 new dengue cases have been confirmed over the past two days — including 14 reported during the last 24 hours — bringing the total number of cases in the district this year to 1,177. Currently, 39 patients are admitted across various hospitals for treatment.

Since January, allied hospitals in the district have screened 18,481 suspected patients for dengue. To curb the spread, 1,359 surveillance teams have been deployed across the district to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding sites.

The teams have inspected more than 5.9 million houses, detecting larvae in 189,176 of them, while over 1.6 million potential breeding spots were checked, of which 25,954 were found positive for larvae growth. In total, around 215,130 larvae have been destroyed so far.