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Wednesday December 11, 2024

Two more dengue patients die in Nowshera

By Irfan Burki & Mushtaq Paracha
November 10, 2024
The representational image shows a dengue ward at a public hospital in Pakistan. — Online/File
The representational image shows a dengue ward at a public hospital in Pakistan. — Online/File

NOWSHERA/ TANK: Two more patients died as the death toll from dengue fever in Nowshera reached six, doctors said on Saturday.

They said that 19 dengue patients were under treatment in Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex and two of them passed away. The deceased were identified as Niazuddin and Aasma Jan.

Meanwhile, the dengue disease caused by mosquito aedes aegypti has turned into a pandemic in various parts of the Tank district but the relevant authorities of the Health Department have become silent spectators. During a whirlwind visit to various areas, the most affected area is the Phool Shah neighbourhood, where there are six to seven patients in each household.

Deputy Commissioner Tanveer Khan when contacted said that anti-aedes aegypti spray had been launched throughout the city to combat the dengue virus. The dengue virus has spread throughout Tank city, including Tank City No.1. The Phool Shah neighbourhood is the most severely affected. IIn this neighborhood, each household has six or seven patients.

The DC said that so far, 22 patients had been confirmed to have been infected by the dengue virus. He added that most patients got tested at private laboratories and then went to the District Hospital Dera Ismail Khan. Two residents of the Phool Shah neighbourhood, Matiullah Khan and Shafiullah Burki, the chairman of the Phool Shah neighborhood, shared that there were six to seven patients in each of their homes.

Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease agents.

The mosquito can be recognised by black and white markings on its legs and a marking in the form of a lyre on the upper surface of its thorax. This mosquito originated in Africa, but is now found in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world.