No control on dengue spread in Pindi, another 458 cases in 4 days

Rawalpindi:There seems to be no control on fast spreading dengue fever in Rawalpindi district as the outbreak of the infection is hitting the population hard particularly in Potohar Town, peri-urban areas and the localities falling under the jurisdiction of Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi and Rawalpindi Cantonment Board.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Sunday reveals that as many as 458 individuals have tested positive for the infection in the last four days from Rawalpindi district that has taken the total number of dengue fever patients so far reported this year from the district to 1,934 of which at least five patients have already lost their lives due to the infection. The data also reveals that the total number of confirmed dengue fever patients belonging to Rawalpindi district who were undergoing treatment at the teaching hospitals in the district on Sunday morning was 299. Of 299 confirmed patients, 102 were admitted to Holy Family Hospital, 98 at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 61 at Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital and 38 at Fauji Foundation Hospital on Sunday.

It is alarming that the number of dengue fever patients requiring hospitalization from the district is continuously on the rise. The number of dengue fever patients from Rawalpindi who were undergoing treatment at the teaching hospitals in the district was 138 one week back. More alarming is the fact that for the first time in the last one week, the average number of confirmed dengue fever patients reported per day from the district has crossed the figure of 100. In the last one week, as many as 762 individuals were tested positive for dengue fever from Rawalpindi recording an average of around 109 cases per day.

Experts believe that the dengue fever outbreak may hit the population in this region of the country more severely in the coming days if the concerned government authorities fail to control the spread of dengue fever at the time. The weather conditions in the region are highly suitable for the spread of the infection and for growth of ‘aedes aegypti’, the mosquito that causes dengue fever.

It is worth mentioning here that the continuous rise in the number of dengue fever cases being reported from the district hints towards inability of the concerned government authorities in checking spread of the infection in this region of the country though a number of ‘dignitaries’ including local and national level politicians along with officials from the health ministry have started paying visits to the teaching hospitals for monitoring of treatment facilities.