Dengue fever surges in Pakistan, health authorities issue alert

ISLAMABAD: Dengue fever has witnessed a worrisome increase throughout Pakistan, with the Punjab Health Department verifying 61 new cases since Saturday.

As many as 290 confirmed dengue patients have been recorded in Lahore alone, with 15 new cases being reported within a day. That represents a significant spike in the area as health authorities continue to put their guard up.

At the same time, the Rawalpindi situation is also growing in magnitude. During the past 24 hours, 29 new patients came to light, taking the number of dengue patients in the city to 756. The confirmed dengue cases in Punjab have now risen overall to 1,618.

The dengue epidemic is not limited to Punjab. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial Health Department confirmed 71 fresh dengue cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the province to 2,782. The highest number of cases has been reported from Peshawar among the affected districts, with 30 new cases.

So far, 29 patients are still being treated in different hospitals in the province. In district-wise terms, the highest number of cases have been registered in Charsadda (959), Mansehra (299), Haripur (262), Peshawar (223), and Mardan (134).

Islamabad Dengue Drive

Due to the increasing danger of dengue, Islamabad’s district administration has intensified measures to curb the spread of the virus. A pivotal meeting on anti-dengue initiatives was held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Islamabad, with health experts and Health Department officials in attendance.

In the meeting, the experts gave feasible solutions for killing dengue larvae. In the past 24 hours, Islamabad registered 30 new dengue fever cases, 11 from rural and 19 from urban areas.

A series of inspections also found that 1,804 areas had live larvae and 65 areas had no signs of infestation. Anti-dengue squads have been sent to 1,271 areas in the city to ensure that regular fogging operations are performed.

Throughout the meeting, Islamabad DC also emphasized the importance of ongoing monitoring and asserted that any lapse in anti-dengue operations would not be accepted.

With cases increasing in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the federal capital, health experts have been calling for people to be cautious and take preventive measures against mosquito bites, including applying repellents and removing water pools where mosquitoes breed.

As governments increase the intensity of measures against the virus outbreak, citizens are encouraged to support current health campaigns and continue to act proactively in order to stop further outbreaks.