Severe dengue outbreak may hit twin cities’ population after Eid

ISLAMABAD: There is a possibility of a sharp increase in number of cases of dengue fever here in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi after Eidul Azha mainly because of extensive travelling of individuals from and to the endemic areas during Eid days.A significant proportion of population of the twin cities has already left for their native towns to spend the holy festival of Eidul Azha with their relatives and in case of endemic areas, they may bring infection with them on their way back.

As per epidemiological evidence of past five years, it is expected that the number of dengue fever cases would sharply increase due to large scale movement of population arriving from dengue endemic areas like cities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

It is worth mentioning here that the number of confirmed patients of dengue fever admitted at the public sector hospitals of the twin cities has already crossed the figure of 75 and in the existing circumstances, a severe outbreak of the infection cannot be ruled out.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Friday has revealed that to date, the three allied hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital have admitted well over 10 patients with dengue fever while well over 65 patients have been tested positive at the hospitals in Islamabad.

Every year on Eid holidays, a big chunk of people leave Islamabad and Rawalpindi for their home towns with families for almost a week and while staying in areas where dengue fever outbreak is ongoing; they get a bite from an infected mosquito and return to Islamabad with virus in their blood.

According to Additional District Health Officer at ICT Health Department Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Durrani, the factor causes two repercussions; one is that the hospitals receive a large number of patients that results in management problems, panic and media hike while the second is that the local dengue mosquitoes of Islamabad, Aedes aegypti and Aedes Albopictus, get infected by biting or feeding on these patients arriving from dengue endemic areas, thus causing further spread of the disease transmission to other people who are bitten by mosquitoes harbouring virus in their bodies.

He is of the view that the number of dengue fever patients may go on rise one week after Eid and in this situation, it is highly important to develop coordination between hospitals and health departments enabling the health authorities to provide immediate epidemiological response in the areas where the patients are coming from, to contain the virus and stop its transmission to other vulnerable population from bite of the infected mosquitoes.

Experts say that it is very important at the time to create awareness among public to take the factor as a normal epidemiological phenomenon and to convince them that they must avoid contact with mosquitoes to protect themselves from dengue fever.