315 more dengue fever patients confirmed

Rawalpindi : The three teaching hospitals in town have tested as many as 315 patients positive for dengue fever in last two days showing that the outbreak of the infection is still in its most intense phase and the trend provides convincing evidence that individuals should take preventive measures more religiously to avoid the infection.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Saturday reveals that as many as 139 patients have been confirmed positive for dengue fever at the allied hospitals in last 24 hours while results in 66 cases were being awaited on Saturday.

The infection has already claimed 25 lives at the allied hospitals including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital however no death due to the infection was reported in last 48 hours. To date, the allied hospitals have tested a total of 9432 patients positive for the infection that is a new record as compared to number of patients in last 14 years.

According to details, the HFH has so far tested a total of 4836 patients positive for dengue fever this year while as many as 2785 have been confirmed positive for the infection at BBH and 1811 at DHQ Hospital. The infection claimed 13 lives at HFH, 10 at BBH and two at DHQ Hospital so far.

On Saturday, a total of 503 patients including 399 confirmed patients were undergoing treatment at the allied hospitals while another 16 patients, relatively in critical condition, were admitted to high dependency units of the allied hospitals, at HFH and BBH.

The most alarming fact is that on Saturday, as many as 142 patients suffering from dengue haemorrhagic fever and six patients suffering from dengue shock syndrome were undergoing treatment at the allied hospitals. The cases of DHF are differentiated from dengue fever on the basis of history of bleeding from gums or skin while the mortality rate of DSS is much higher as compared to dengue fever.

Many health experts believe that the fall in temperature would certainly cause reduction in number of cases of the infection but at the moment, it is important for individuals to take preventive measures more seriously and must avoid contact with mosquitoes to avoid infection.