Fear of dengue outbreak looms over Pakistan as cases surge in Punjab, KP

ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the recent spike in dengue cases across the country, health authorities Sunday feared Pakistan might face an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in the coming days.

According to the provincial health department, 90 cases of the dengue virus have been reported across Punjab over the past 24 hours. Eighty-one of these cases were reported in Lahore alone, said officials.

Meanwhile, six cases of the virus surfaced in Rawalpindi while Vehari, Sargodha and DI Khan reported one case each of the virus over the past day.

It is pertinent to mention here that the dengue virus has once again reared its ugly head across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The total tally of dengue virus cases this year has surged to 1,082 whereas 905 cases in total have been reported from Lahore this year.

Dengue larvae were found at 158 spots by health authorities on Saturday.

Meanwhile, 32 more people were infected with the virus in the federal capital in the past 24 hours, pushing the tally of the cases in Islamabad to 177.

Several cases of the dengue virus were also reported in Peshawar. The recent spike in dengue cases has alarmed the provincial health department.

People have demanded the government take adequate measures to stem the disease from spreading further.

Islamabad reports surge in dengue cases

A day earlier, a rapid surge in dengue fever cases had been reported in the federal capital.

Islamabad District Health Officer (DHO), Dr. Zaeem Zia told Geo News a day earlier that the recent increase in the cases resulted in the admission of more dengue fever patients in the hospitals.

"As many as 82 individuals contracted dengue in the last four days," Dr. Zia had said.