Rawalpindi:The dengue fever outbreak has started hitting severely the population in Rawalpindi district from where as many as 74 confirmed cases of the infection have been registered in the last four days while the number of patients undergoing treatment at the hospitals in Rawalpindi has swelled to 80 on Saturday night.
The total number of confirmed dengue fever patients so far reported from the district has crossed the figure of 270 on Sunday and the number of patients being tested positive for the infection is on a continuous rise making the situation alarming.
Data collected by ‘The News’ on Sunday has revealed that as many as 195 confirmed dengue fever patients have so far been discharged from public sector hospitals in Rawalpindi while 80 dengue fever patients including 50 confirmed cases have been undergoing treatment at different public sector hospitals in Rawalpindi for management of the disease of which at least one patient was in critical condition. The dengue fever, however, has claimed no life so far from Rawalpindi district.
The most alarming is the fact that out of 270 confirmed cases so far reported in Rawalpindi district, around 240 cases have been reported from localities in Potohar Town (peri-urban areas), Chaklala Cantonment Board, Rawalpindi Cantonment Board, and Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi while only 20 patients have been reported from Murree, Taxila, Kallar Syedan, Gujar Khan, Kahuta and Kotli Sattian.
The maximum number of confirmed cases, so far 86 have been reported from Potohar Town (peri-urban) areas followed by 75 cases from the areas falling in the jurisdiction of CCB while 55 cases have been reported from the areas in Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi and 17 from RCB. The most affected localities by the dengue fever outbreak so far include Dhoke Munshee with 44 cases, Gukistan Colony with 37 cases, vicinities along Adyala Road with around 40 cases, and Chamanzar Colony with nearly 20 cases.
Health experts believe that it is time for the population in the district to follow preventive measures to check the spread of the infection while individuals living in the most affected areas in town must follow preventive measures to minimise the losses, the infection causes. It is important that the confirmation of a greater number of patients from a region increases the chances of the spread of dengue fever in the region.