Rawalpindi : As many as nine patients have been tested positive for dengue fever here in Rawalpindi district in the last two days taking the total number of confirmed patients so far registered from the district this year to 68 while the number of patients undergoing treatment at the three teaching hospitals in town on Friday was 18.
Data collected by ‘The News’ on Friday has revealed that out of a total of 68 dengue fever patients reported from the district in the last three to four months, 19 were reported in the last four days showing that the spread of dengue fever is getting faster. It is important that the existing weather condition in this region of the country is considered as the most suitable for growth and breeding of dengue fever vector, ‘aedes aegypti’ and ‘aedes albopictus’.
The three teaching hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital have already started receiving confirmed patients of the infection.
As many as 32 patients have already been confirmed positive for dengue fever from Potohar Town, 10 from cantonment board areas and 12 from Tehsil Kahuta. Six patients have been reported from localities in the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi and at least three from Taxila Cantonment and Tehsil Gujar Khan.
According to health experts, the situation may take an alarming turn in the days to come as the incidences of dengue fever have been reported from a number of localities in the district. They say that a severe outbreak of dengue fever may hit population in the region if proper preventive and control measures are not taken in time by both the concerned authorities and individuals.
On the basis of epidemiological data and the trends of previous dengue fever outbreaks, many health experts believe that the peak season for dengue fever transmission in this region of the country starts in the beginning of September and lasts till November.