Dengue outbreak gets intense in Pindi, infection claims another life

Rawalpindi:The dengue fever outbreak that has already hit population in a number of localities in Rawalpindi is getting more and more intense with every passing day while the infection has claimed another life from the district in the last 24 hours taking the total number of deaths so far reported from the district due to dengue fever to six.

It is important to mention that the infection has claimed all the six lives from the district in the last four weeks. The district health authority, however, claimed that the confirmed dengue fever patient who died in the last 24 hours from the district was suffering from co-morbidities and the death cannot be attributed to dengue fever alone.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Tuesday has revealed that as many as 186 more patients have been tested positive for dengue fever from Rawalpindi district in the last 48 hours taking the total number of confirmed patients of the infection so far reported from the district to 1358 this year.

It is worth mentioning here that there has been a tremendous increase in the number of confirmed dengue fever cases from the district and out of a total of 1358 patients reported this year from Rawalpindi, as many as 1326 have been reported in the last four weeks of which six have died of the infection.

Data also reveals that the number of dengue fever patients from Rawalpindi district who are undergoing treatment at the teaching hospitals in the district reached 181 on Tuesday that was 138 some two days back. Experts say that the public sector hospitals in town may receive thousands of more confirmed patients of the infection in the coming weeks if the concerned government authorities fail to control the spread of dengue fever.

The weather conditions in the region remain suitable for the spread of the infection and for growth of ‘aedes aegypti’, the mosquito that causes dengue fever till the middle of November and according to experts, the fact makes the existing situation more alarming.

Chief Executive Officer at District Health Authority Rawalpindi Dr. Asif Arbab Khan Niazi, when contacted by ‘The News’ on Tuesday said the teams of the district health department have been carrying out case response activities properly to control spread of the infection. Insecticidal residual spray is performed in a total of 49 houses including the one from where the case is reported and 12 houses on all four sides of the patient’s house, he claimed.

He admitted that the number of cases is on a tremendous increase mainly because of several rain spells in the region in the last few weeks that has made most of the preventive and control measures ineffective. All the possible breeding sites of mosquitoes in and around houses are being destroyed mechanically while on finding out adult mosquitoes ‘aedes aegypti’, the vector that causes dengue fever, the teams of health department perform fogging, he said.

He added the teams of the health department are also performing sprinkling of larvicidal temephos on stagnant water reservoirs that can not be eliminated physically. However, after the rain, the health department has to repeat sprinkling of temephos granules on ponds of stagnant water, he said.