Dengue outbreak comes to its seasonal close in ICT

By Muhammad Qasim
December 05, 2023

Islamabad:The dengue fever outbreak that proved to be significantly severe in the federal capital this year with reports of a total of 2423 confirmed cases of the infection has come to its seasonal close after the setting in of winter in this region of the country.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Monday has revealed that in the last 24 hours, no case of dengue fever has been confirmed positive from Islamabad Capital Territory while in the last one week, only six individuals belonging to Islamabad have tested positive for dengue fever. According to health experts, sporadic cases of the infection would most probably be reported for another week or so but the outbreak has come to an end after the fall in mercury.

An Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which transmits the Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses can be seen in this picture. — AFP/File
An Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which transmits the Zika, Chikungunya, Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses can be seen in this picture. — AFP/File

District Health Officer Islamabad Dr. Muhammad Zaeem Zia informed ‘The News’ that a total of 2423 confirmed patients of dengue fever have been reported from the federal capital this year though the infection claimed no life from ICT this year. Out of 2423 cases, 1545 cases have been reported from rural areas and 878 from urban areas in Islamabad.

He added that another 96 patients registered positive for dengue fever in ICT are those who belong to other districts of the country. It is worth mentioning here that from the middle of September to the mid of October, well over 350 confirmed cases of dengue fever were reported from ICT per week on average. Dr. Zaeem said the teams of the district health department in Islamabad have so far performed insecticidal residual spray in as many as 21756 houses and fogging has been carried out at 1351 spots in the rural areas of the federal capital while in the urban areas, IRS has been performed in a total of 3845 houses or offices and fogging has been carried out at 17943 spots.

According to health experts, it is time for authorities to involve individuals to devise a fool proof strategy to deal with the incidence of dengue fever in the coming year. To prevent a possible outbreak in the next year, a lot is needed to be done for proper management of solid waste while individuals should identify and eliminate all possible breeding sites in homes and offices.