Sindh confirms first death from dengue for 2025

KARACHI: Sindh has reported its first dengue death of the year, as a 24-year-old male patient died at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital.

According to hospital authorities, the patient had been on a ventilator for the past two days and had a critically low platelet count of just 32,000. A healthy person normally has 150,000 to 450,000 platelets, highlighting the severity of the case.

This is the first dengue death in Sindh in 2025, as the province continues to report relatively fewer cases compared to previous years.

So far this year, 295 dengue cases have been recorded across Sindh. Of these, 260 cases – almost 90% – have been reported in Karachi alone, making the city the epicenter of dengue activity in the province.

During June 2025, 32 new dengue cases were registered in Karachi division. In contrast, Hyderabad and Shaheed Benazirabad divisions did not report any new cases during the same month. Mirpurkhas and Sukkur divisions reported only one case in June.

Looking at the overall distribution of cases in Sindh so far in 2025, Karachi leads with 260 reported infections. Hyderabad division has reported a total of 30 cases this year, followed by Mirpurkhas with 2 cases and Sukkur with 2 cases. Shaheed Benazirabad division has reported only 1 case so far.

While the current figures are concerning, they represent a significant decline in dengue activity compared to the previous four years.

A total of 2,704 dengue cases were reported in Sindh in 2024. There were 2,880 confirmed cases in 2023. The number was even higher in 2022, with a record 23,274 cases reported across the province, the highest number in recent years. In comparison, 6,739 cases were reported in 2021, compared to 4,318 in 2020.

The dramatic drop in dengue cases reported this year suggests that prevention and control measures may be having a positive impact, although health experts have warned that vigilance must be maintained – especially during the ongoing monsoon season, when mosquito-borne diseases are on the rise.

Health authorities continue to urge residents to take precautions, including eliminating standing water, using mosquito repellents, and seeking immediate medical attention if they experience symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, and body aches.