Death toll rises to 29 as dengue claims two more lives

The dengue fever has claimed two more lives in the city, killing a woman in her 50s and an infant and raising the death toll due to the mosquito-borne disease to 29 in Karachi this year, health department officials said on Monday.

Health officials said 55-year-old woman, who was identified as Zahida Kauser, a resident of the Liaquatabad area, had been taken to a private hospital in North Nazimabad after she tested positive for dengue, and she expired during treatment.

They said the woman was critically ill when she was taken to the private hospital, where she was diagnosed with dengue shock syndrome and died due to multiple organ failures and other complications.

Seven-month-old Muhammad Abiyan from Al-Noor Society also died due to complications of the dengue fever at the same private hospital the other day. Health department officials said the toddler was taken to the private hospital in a critical condition where he was diagnosed with having dengue fever. He died during treatment.

Health department officials said that with the two more deaths in Karachi, the toll due to the mosquito-borne illness had reached 29 this year. They added that over 10,000 people had so far tested positive for the viral illness.

On Saturday, the dengue fever had claimed the life of a young married woman at a private hospital in the city. “Midhat Fahat, 28, a resident of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in North Nazimabad after she tested positive for dengue fever. She succumbed to complications of the mosquito-borne illness today,” an official of Dr Ziauddin Hospital, North Nazimabad campus, said.

Health officials said that with the latest death due to the dengue fever in Karachi, the death toll from the vector-borne illness has reached 26 in Karachi this year. They added that over 9,000 people had tested positive for the disease.

They advised the people to take precautionary measures to prevent themselves and their family members from mosquitoes, use mosquito repellents and mosquito nets, while they should not let the water accumulate inside and outside their homes.

Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, when asked on Monday about the growing number of dengue fever cases in Karachi and increasing deaths, blamed mosquitoes for the outbreak and said unless mosquitoes were eliminated by the municipal authorities and the people themselves, the dengue fever outbreak could not be controlled.