Dengue fever outbreak starts losing intensity in Potohar region

Islamabad: Dengue fever outbreak has started losing intensity in this region of the country mainly because of significant fall in temperature though individuals still need to take preventive measures more religiously to avoid mosquito bite as after setting in of winter, mosquitoes including ‘aedes aegypti’, the vector that causes dengue fever may move to inside homes and offices in search of relatively warmer places to rest and bite.

According to District Health Officer Islamabad Capital Territory Dr. Muhammad Zaeem Zia, as many as 249 patients have been tested positive for dengue fever from the federal capital in the last one week while the number was 506 in the previous week, from October 31 to November 6.

It is important that the number of dengue fever cases reported from ICT from October 17 to 23 was 919 while from October 24 to 30, as many as 730 patients were reported from the federal capital.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that in the last 24 hours, as many as 36 new patients have been reported from ICT taking the total number of dengue fever patients so far registered from the federal capital to 4351 of which 19 patients have lost their lives due to the infection.

On the other hand, confirmation of another 20 patients from Rawalpindi district took the tally to 2,222. So far, a total of 6,573 patients have been confirmed positive for dengue fever from the twin cities while the result in well over 100 cases has yet to be finalized.

According to health experts, epidemiological findings developed with the help of hospital-based surveillance on the basis of trend of the disease during the last 10 years or so show that further decline in the number of dengue fever cases is expected in the next two weeks that can be attributed to a fall in temperature.

It is time to create awareness among the public that the fall in temperature observed recently has caused mosquitoes to move to comparatively warmer places inside houses. Mosquitoes including dengue fever vector would move from corridors and dormitories to the bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms and in corners behind the curtains or furniture to rest and bite. Mosquitoes can resist a slight drop in temperature and would be able to survive in indoor places. It is time for individuals to take extra care to avoid mosquito bites inside homes, offices, and public transport to avoid dengue fever.