Situation turns alarming as 152 more test positive

Islamabad : Another 152 patients have tested positive for dengue fever from Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours taking the tally from the twin cities to 3,388 of which eight patients have already died of the infection.

According to District Health Officer ICT Dr. Muhammad Zaeem Zia, another 77 individuals have tested positive from the federal capital in the last 24 hours including 41 patients from rural areas and 36 patients from urban areas of Islamabad. The total number of patients so far reported from ICT has reached 1,734 of which five patients have lost their lives.

On the other hand, as many as 75 patients have been confirmed positive in Rawalpindi district in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 1,654 of which three patients have died of the infection.

On Friday morning, as many as 241 patients were undergoing treatment at the three teaching hospitals in Rawalpindi including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, and District Headquarters Hospital of which 152 had tested positive.

The number of dengue fever patients is continuously on the rise in this region of the country and in this situation, according to health experts, it is a must for individuals to take preventive and control measures religiously to avoid a possible disaster in near future.

The confirmation of such a big number of dengue fever patients from the region proves the existence of dengue fever vector in abundance here showing that larvae identification and elimination campaigns launched by the district health department at the beginning of this year did not yield the desired results.

According to health experts, the best defence against the spread of dengue fever is prevention. People should be aware of the fact that dengue fever is caused by the bite of a female mosquito ‘aedes aegypti’ and its elimination is a must to control the spread of the infection. Almost all varieties of mosquitoes breed in or near water that is stagnant or slow moving and to check the spread of dengue fever, the habitats of mosquitoes especially those close to human habitation should be eliminated.

Experts say that individuals should not allow the unnecessary collection of water in and around residences and should take measures to eliminate mosquitoes from houses and workplaces.