105 more cases in last one week at allied hospitals take tally to 269

DENGUE FEVER

Health department terms cases sporadic in nature, no outbreak so far

Rawalpindi

As many as 105 patients have been tested positive for dengue fever here at the three allied hospitals in town in last one week, however, the district health department has termed that the cases are of sporadic nature and are being reported from scattered areas of the district.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that till September 3 this year, a total of 66 patients were tested positive for dengue fever at the three teaching hospitals in town while in next two weeks, till September 17, the number of confirmed patients reached 164. Till Saturday, September 24, the total number of patients confirmed positive at the allied hospitals reaches 269 showing that in last one week, the allied hospitals received 105 confirmed patients.

The number of confirmed patients of dengue fever at the allied hospitals including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital is continuously on the rise at least for the last three weeks, however, according to health department, the incidence of infection is not showing trend of an outbreak and so far, no area in the district can be termed endemic.

It is important that the infection has already claimed one life at the allied hospitals as a female patient, aged 18, belonging to district Attock died of dengue fever at the HFH on September 14 this year.

Data also reveals that in last 24 hours, the allied hospitals tested as many as 27 patients positive for dengue fever including 16 patients at HFH, eight at BBH and three at DHQ Hospital.

Till Saturday evening, a total of 88 patients including confirmed and suspected ones were undergoing treatment in wards at the three allied hospitals while five patients of the infection were admitted to High Dependency Unit of HFH for treatment.

To date, the HFH received a total of 192 confirmed patients of dengue fever while as many as 43 patients including 37 confirmed patients of the infection have been undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The BBH received a total of 56 confirmed patients of the infection so far this year while as many as 39 patients including 17 confirmed ones were undergoing treatment at the hospital on Saturday evening. The BBH has yet to receive results in 20 cases from its pathology department.

As many as 21 patients have been tested positive for dengue fever at the DHQ Hospital this year where as on Saturday evening, a total of six confirmed patients were undergoing treatment in dengue ward of the hospital.

The situation is well under control and cannot be termed as an outbreak as yet, said District Health Officer Dr. Sohail Ahmed while talking to ‘The News’.

He added that till September 25 last year, in 2015, more than 700 patients were tested positive for dengue fever at the allied hospitals while this year the number is much less than that.

Data collected by ‘The News’ reveals that in 2015, till September 24, the total number of patients confirmed positive for dengue fever at the allied hospital were slightly over 640 while this year, the number is 269.

It is, however, worth mentioning here that in 2014, not more than 50 confirmed cases of dengue fever were reported in the district till September 24.

Dr. Sohail said of 269 patients confirmed positive for dengue fever at the allied hospitals, nearly 125 are residents of Rawalpindi while the rest belong to adjoining districts and the federal capital.

So far, the incidence of dengue fever is being reported in scattered union councils of Rawal and Potohar towns along with wards of cantonment boards and no area can be termed endemic, said the DHO.