Dengue receding

Rawalpindi
The dengue fever outbreak in the district has almost come to an end though sporadic cases of the infection are still being reported at the three teaching hospitals in town that have tested only 19 patients positive for dengue fever in last four days.
The outbreak in the district lost its intensity mainly because of fall in temperature and according to health experts, the dengue fever cases being reported recently at the allied hospitals are those who contracted infection seven to 10 days back.
Health experts believe that there would be no case of dengue fever after the first week of December, however, they suggest that people should have to work hard for surveillance against the infection.
Data collected by ‘The News’ on Saturday reveals that the number of confirmed cases of dengue fever is continuously decreasing. Three weeks back, there were not less than 280 patients undergoing treatment at the three teaching hospitals while on Saturday, only 40 patients including 15 confirmed cases were undergoing treatment at the allied hospitals.
It is important that the recent dengue fever outbreak claimed a total of 13 lives, 10 at Holy Family Hospital and three at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, however in last one week, no patient died of the infection at the allied hospitals.
To date, the allied hospitals have tested a total of 3,893 patients positive for dengue fever of which 1,806 were confirmed positive at BBH, 1,587 at HFH and 500 at District Headquarters Hospital.
In last 24 hours, as many as eight patients were tested positive for dengue fever at the allied hospitals including seven patients at HFH and one at BBH while no case of the infection was reported at DHQ Hospital.
It is, however, alarming that at present, a total of six patients including three patients of dengue hemorrhagic fever and two patients of dengue shock syndrome are undergoing treatment at high dependency units of the allied hospitals, relatively in critical condition.
During the recent dengue fever outbreak, as many as 43,640 patients visited dengue outpatient departments at the allied hospitals setting a new record in the district. To date, well over 36,000 patients were suspected for the infection and the allied hospitals had to admit over 5,900 patients for treatment of dengue fever.
The most alarming fact during the recent outbreak that started in August this year is that the allied hospitals received as many as 1,368 cases of DHF and 82 cases of DSS that are more fatal forms of dengue fever. The mortality rate in DSS is considered as up to five per cent.
Top officials at the allied hospitals informed ‘The News’ that majority of patients reaching allied hospitals in town from other tehsils of Rawalpindi district were serious patients with complications because of unawareness about the infection and delay in getting advice properly from qualified physicians.