Another 12 test positive for dengue in a week

Rawalpindi:A significant increase in the number of confirmed cases of dengue fever is being reported in the region as in the last one week, as many as 10 individuals have tested positive for dengue fever from Rawalpindi district while two from Islamabad Capital Territory.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Monday has revealed that the confirmation of another 10 patients positive for the infection has taken the total number of confirmed patients so far reported from Rawalpindi district to 47 while to date, a total of 21 individuals have tested positive for the infection from the federal capital.

Data reveals that out of 47 patients tested positive for dengue fever from Rawalpindi, 42 have already been discharged after treatment while five patients have been undergoing treatment at the public sector hospitals including two confirmed patients at Holy Family Hospital and one each in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital and Wah General Hospital. None of the admitted patients, according to the district health authority, was in critical condition on Thursday.

It is important that the infection has so far claimed no life from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi however, according to health experts, the spread of the infection and increase in the number of confirmed dengue fever patients from the twin cities hint towards a possible outbreak of the infection in the next few days because the existing weather conditions are considered as the most suitable for breeding and growth of dengue fever vector, the mosquitoes ‘aedes aegypti’ and ‘aedes albopictus’.

It is important that usually, in this region, the mosquito density is maximal in early July, late August and early September. The egg laying activity, though, remains continued until November. Experts say that the larval density reaches its peak in September in this region of the country. Experts expect a possible outbreak of dengue fever in the coming days because all the factors considered as genuine for spread and outbreak of the infection including temperature, humidity, rainfall and urban and artificial flooding along with infected patients are there in existence.