Five confirmed cases of dengue fever from town

Rawalpindi
As many as five local patients belonging to four different localities of town have been tested positive for dengue fever at the allied hospitals in last one week that proves the existence of adult mosquito 'aedes aegypti', the vector that causes dengue fever in scattered areas of town.
Two of the five patients were confirmed positive at
Benazir Bhutto Hospital
while three patients were tested positive at Holy Family Hospital.
The HFH tested third patient positive for dengue fever on Saturday, a young female belonging to Rahimabad, a locality less than one kilometer away from Benazir Bhutto International Airport.
Two young male patients namely Omar and Shoaib were tested positive for dengue fever at the HFH some four days back though they have been discharged after treatment, said Medical Superintendent at HFH Dr. Arshad Ali Sabir while talking to 'The News' on Saturday.
He added the two patients were residents of Dhoke Kashmirian and Dhoke Ratta. The female patient confirmed positive for dengue fever on Saturday reached the hospital on Friday night, he said. He added the female patient is undergoing treatment at the hospital at present.
He added the hospital performed dengue serology of the three patients after suspecting them patients of the infection. It is important that all the three patients were tested positive through NS1 test at the HFH.
On the other hand, the BBH received two patients of the infection one 29-year old Muqaddas on August 8 and the other 18-year-old Asad Ali on August 10 who were admitted to the hospital and confirmed positive for dengue fever through NS1 test.
It is pertinent to mention that according to technical guidelines prepared by Dengue Expert Advisory Group of the Punjab government, a case can be confirmed positive only through NS1 test under the criterion set in 2014.
Both the patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital till Saturday though they are stable, said BBH chief Dr. Asif Qadir Mir while talking to 'The News' on Saturday. The two patients were undergoing treatment at intensive care unit of the hospital earlier however they have now been shifted to dengue ward.
Muqaddas is a resident of Chah Sultan and Asad Ali belongs to Rahimabad, said Dr Mir. He added that the hospital administration has notified the district health department of the patients' area of residence enabling it to take necessary measures for control, prevention and surveillance of the infection.