261 more people test positive for dengue in Karachi

Two hundred and sixty-one more people have tested positive for the dengue virus in Karachi during the past 24 hours, Sindh Health Department officials said on Wednesday.

However, the number of people in the city who have been infected with the dengue virus seems to be much higher in the light of the data collected from different public and private hospitals.

According to the daily official data, 96 of the 261 patients belong to District East, 73 to District South, 44 to District Central, 25 to District Korangi, 12 to District Malir, six to District West and five to District Keamari.

Official statistics show that 27 people in Karachi have lost their lives due to the dengue virus, but not a single death has been reported in any other district of the province despite the recent rains and floods.

A health department official said that 3,546 dengue cases have been reported this month in Karachi alone, while a total of 5,753 cases have been reported in the city this year. The official said that 323 cases have been reported in the province during the past 24 hours, with 51 more testing positive in Hyderabad, making it the city with the second highest number of cases.

“This year 6,486 dengue fever cases have been reported in the entire Sindh, while 3,917 have been reported in the first 20 days of this month.” On the other hand, data collected from different public and private hospitals reveals that hundreds of people reported to their OPDs and emergency departments with symptoms of dengue fever, and they were later confirmed as dengue-positive through diagnostic tests.

Data was collected from the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital, the Trauma Centre, the Lyari General Hospital, the Sindh Services Hospital, the Aga Khan University Hospital, the Liaquat National Hospital, the Ziauddin Hospital in Clifton and North Nazimabad, and other facilities.

Data of different public and private labs also confirms that hundreds of people are being tested positive for the dengue virus, but the Directorate of the Vector-Borne Disease Control seems to be trying its best not to present the actual data of the dengue outbreak to senior officials and disease surveillance authorities.