79 confirmed Chikungunya cases in Swabi

SWABI: An official said on Friday that 79 cases of Chikungunya had been confirmed in the district.

“We had sent the blood samples of suspected patients to the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad. The NIH confirmed 79 to be positive,” said District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Muhammad Niaz.

He said the disease first broke out in Gandaf village of Topi tehsil and Sherdara village of Razaar tehsil in the district.

The two affected villages are situated in separate tehsils but both are mountainous areas.

“I spent the entire day at Gandaf village in the Gadoon Amazai belt and held a meeting with elders of the area while health officers and representatives of the local government were also present on the occasion,” he said.

The NIH team also reached from Islamabad to analyse the cause of Chikungunya, he added.

Dr Niaz said three medical camps each in Gandaf and Sherdara had been established and the health teams worked round-the-clock to take care of the patients and educate others about precautionary measures.

He said that 47 cases had been confirmed in Gandaf village and 32 in Sherdara village by the NIH tests.