Worst-ever dengue fever outbreak in Potohar feared

Rawalpindi: Confirmation of as many as 363 new patients of dengue fever here at the three allied hospitals in town in last five days has taken total number of confirmed patients so far registered with the allied hospitals to 923 and the sharp consistent increase in number of cases hints that the most severe outbreak of the infection in the region is on the cards.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Tuesday reveals that the population in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has started facing an early yet severe outbreak of dengue fever that is getting more and more intense with the passage of everyday.

In last 24 hours only, the three teaching hospitals tested as many as 68 patients positive for dengue fever including 36 patients at Holy Family Hospital, 19 patients at Benazir Bhutto Hospital and 13 at District Headquarters Hospital.

The three hospitals have yet to receive confirmatory results in as many as 82 cases on Tuesday. The allied hospitals have already started bearing extra ordinary burden of dengue fever patients while the peak season for transmission of dengue fever is about to set in.

Health experts believe that the peak season for dengue fever transmission in this region of the country starts from second or third week of September and the early spread of the infection this year is much alarming.

In the last five days, the confirmation of 363 patients positive for dengue fever amounts to 72 patients a day and the number is much higher if compared with the most severe outbreaks of dengue fever in the region, in 2015 and 2016.

At this point in time, till September 6 in 2016, the allied hospitals had registered a total of 70 confirmed patients while in 2015, the allied hospitals tested a total of 83 patients positive till September 3. In 2015, well over 4500 confirmed patients were reported in the region while in 2016, over 3900 cases were registered though in 2016, the dengue fever outbreak claimed at least eight lives at the three allied hospitals in town and three lives in hospitals in the federal capital.

On Tuesday, as many as 274 patients including 82 confirmed patients of dengue fever were undergoing treatment at the three allied hospitals while well over 1500 patients including confirmed and suspected patients of dengue fever have al-ready been discharged

from the three teaching hospitals.

Epidemiological data reveals that the situation is going to be much alarming in a week or so and there would be reports of over 100 patients per day if the concerned government authorities failed in controlling the dengue fever spread as had happened in the last 12 years.

In almost all dengue fever outbreaks, it was fall in temperature in the first week of December that put the outbreak to an end and not the authorities. Meanwhile, according to Deputy Director at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Dr. Waseem Khawaja, the PIMS has received well over 200 confirmed patients of dengue fever along with 400 suspected patients in last one week.