13 localities severely hit by dengue in Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi:The number of dengue fever patients being reported from Rawalpindi district is on a continuous rise as within the last 24 hours, another 30 individuals have tested positive for the infection taking the total number of patients so far reported from the district to over 400.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Sunday has revealed that the dengue fever outbreak is hitting the population badly in as many as 13 localities, union councils in town from where 63 per cent of the total dengue fever cases have so far been reported. Out of a total of around 400 cases so far reported from Rawalpindi, over 230 have been reported from 13 union councils.

The localities worst hit by dengue fever outbreak so far include Dhoke Munshee, Gulistan Colony, Adyala Road, Kotha Kallan, Chamanzar, Chaklala and Chaklala Scheme III. According to health experts, the situation is more alarming because the number of dengue fever cases have so far been reported from well over 80 union councils or localities hinting that the population in the district may face a severe outbreak in the days to come.

It is worth mentioning here that the weather conditions in this region of the country remain the most suitable for the spread of the infection and for growth of ‘aedes aegypti’, the mosquito that causes dengue fever till the middle of November and according to many health experts, the fact makes the existing situation more alarming.

According to details, a total of 158 confirmed dengue fever cases have so far been reported from Potohar Town, peri-urban areas, 92 from areas falling under jurisdiction of Chaklala Cantonment Board, 66 from localities under Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi and 20 from Rawalpindi Cantonment Board areas.

The burden of dengue fever patients on the three teaching hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital is also on the rise. On Sunday, as many as 86 dengue fever patients including the suspected ones were undergoing treatment at the three allied hospitals.