Eight more test positive for dengue in twin cities

Rawalpindi:As many as eight patients have tested positive for dengue fever from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in the last week hinting that the population in this region of the country may face a severe outbreak of the infection in the coming days.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Tuesday reveals that as many as six patients have been confirmed positive for dengue fever here in Rawalpindi district in the last six days taking the total number of confirmed patients so far registered from the district to 25 while confirmation of another two patients positive from the federal capital has taken the total number of patients reported from Islamabad to 10.

Data also reveals that out of a total of 35 patients so far confirmed positive for dengue fever from the region, 19 were reported in the last three weeks showing that the spread of the infection is getting faster. It is important that the existing weather conditions in this region of the country are considered as the most suitable for the growth and breeding of dengue fever vectors, ‘aedes aegypti’ and ‘aedes albopictus’.

The three teaching hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, and District Headquarters Hospital have so far managed a total of 19 confirmed patients of the infection. According to details, as many as nine patients have so far tested positive from the areas falling under Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi while five each from the areas falling under Chaklala Cantonment Board and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board. Another three patients have tested positive from Tehsil Gujar Khan, Tehsil Kotli Sattian, and Tehsil Kahuta, two from Potohar Town peri-urban areas and one from Potohar Rural.

According to health experts, the situation may take an alarming turn in the days to come because dengue fever cases are being reported from a number of localities in the district. They say that a severe outbreak of dengue fever may hit the population in the region if proper preventive and control measures are not taken in time by both the concerned authorities and the individuals at the community level.

It is important that the mosquitoes ‘aedes aegypti’ and ‘aedes albopictus’ are vectors causing dengue fever. The infected female mosquito, after carrying one of the four types of dengue virus from the dengue patient, bites the healthy person and transmits the disease. The greater the number of infected travellers or natives in an area, the greater would be the chances of the spread of the infection.

The teams of the district health department have been carrying out both the indoor and outdoor surveillance activities extensively for prevention and control of dengue fever in the region, said Director District Health Authority Rawalpindi Dr. Anser Ishaq while talking to ‘The News’ on Tuesday. He added that the infection has claimed no life from the region so far while three patients have been undergoing treatment at the healthcare facilities in the district.