Dengue fever outbreak in Rawalpindi: Another 275 tested positive, take tally to 600 at allied hospitals

Rawalpindi: The dengue fever outbreak in this region of the country is still hitting population incessantly despite a significant fall in mercury as the number of patients being tested positive for the infection here at the three allied hospitals in town is still on the rise.

The allied hospitals have confirmed well over 275 patients for dengue fever in last 20 days that took the total number of confirmed patients so far registered with the three hospitals to over 600.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Monday reveals that in last 24 hours, the three teaching hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital (HFH), Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) and District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) received as many as eight confirmed patients of dengue fever while a total of 39 patients reported at dengue outpatient departments at the allied hospitals in one day.

The data reveals that in last 20 days, from October 17 to Monday, the HFH tested as many as 239 patients positive for dengue fever while as many as 38 confirmed patients of dengue fever reached District Headquarters Hospital.

The BBH, however, did not receive any confirmed patient of the infection during the period. According to details, the HFH tested a total of 509 patients positive so far this year while the BBH received 18 confirmed patients of the infection during the current season. The DHQ Hospital received a total of 73 confirmed patients of dengue fever to date.

On Monday morning, as many as 20 patients including eight confirmed patients of dengue fever were undergoing treatment at the HFH while at BBH, a total of eight patients including three confirmed ones were admitted to dengue fever ward.

As many as five confirmed dengue fever patients were undergoing treatment at the DHQ Hospital on Monday. A total of four patients of the infection were undergoing treatment at High Dependency Unit of HFH of which three were suffering from Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, a rare form of the infection that has greater rate of mortality.

Senior officials at the allied hospitals, however, are expecting that the burden of dengue fever patients at the hospitals would certainly be decreased within next few days mainly because of fall in temperature.