Another 140 test positive for dengue

Rawalpindi : Confirmation of another 140 patients positive for dengue fever from Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours has taken the total number of patients so far reported from the region to 2,859 on Tuesday hinting that the dengue fever outbreak this year may be more intense as compared to the outbreaks in the past.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that from January 1 to September 1 this year, the total number of confirmed dengue fever patients reported from the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi was around 500 has become almost six times in the last 19 days. It is also alarming that out of a total of seven deaths so far caused by dengue fever in this region of the country this year, five were reported in the last two weeks or so making the outbreak much deadly.

Many health experts believe that the situation may be more alarming after a week or so as the weather conditions have already become the most suitable for transmission of dengue fever and there are chances of a further increase in the number of cases of not only dengue fever but also of dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome.

Experts say that if proper preventive measures are not taken by both the individuals and the concerned government authorities, the population in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi would have to face one of the worst ever outbreaks of infection this year.

Data collected by ‘The News’ reveals that as many as 72 patients have tested positive for dengue fever from Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 1403 on Tuesday morning while 68 patients have been reported from ICT which has taken the total number of patients confirmed positive from ICT to 1,456.