Health

Dengue cases in Karachi total 4,151 now, sparking concerns

Dengue concern in Pakistan has worsened as more than 100 patients admitted to hospital every day and Sindh's total cases rise to 4,151

By Khawar Khan

October 08, 2019

An edes aegypti mosquito is seen inside a test tube at a control and prevention centre in Guadalupe near Monterrey, Mexico, March 8, 2016. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/Files

KARACHI: The number of dengue cases in Sindh on Tuesday jumped to 4,151 for the ongoing year as an additional 115 people in Pakistan's southern port city were diagnosed with the virus over the past 24 hours, a spokesperson for the provincial health department's Dengue Control And Prevention Program confirmed.

The spokesperson added that in various other districts of Sindh, another 252 cases of dengue were recorded.

The new cases as of Tuesday — including from Karachi (115) as well as Sindh's other districts (252) — bumped up the total number of dengue patients to 4,151 for 2019, while the death toll from dengue rose to 15, as of reporting time.

The dengue control programme's spokesperson added further that more than 1,000 cases were recorded in the first week of October alone.

Dubbed "break-bone fever", dengue is one of the world's leading mosquito-borne illnesses and infects tens of millions across the globe annually.

Also read: Dengue outbreak enters most intense phase

Patients in Pakistan include women, young people, children, as well as the elderly as dengue affects people of all ages and background.

This year, however, outbreaks have ravaged south-east Asia this year, impacting hundreds of thousands of people, causing hundreds of deaths, and crippling national health care systems as governments struggle to contain the untreatable virus.