Viral fever: 131 dengue cases reported in Hazara division

Report says three patients brought from Mansehra and Battagram died

ISLAMABAD: Over 131 cases of dengue fever have been reported in Hazara division during this year while at least three patients have died from the virus.

Of the cases reported, 70 fever patients belonged to Mansehra, 37 to Abbottabad and 10 to Haripur. Four cases were reported from Battagram and two from Dir.

The report said that three patients brought from Mansehra and Battagram died and three others were still under treatment.

Meanwhile, a senior health official in Rawalpindi said dengue fever threat is receding with the changing weather.

“From the second week of October, there has been a decrease in the number of dengue larvae reported in Rawalpindi and Potohar during the indoor surveillance campaign,” Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Rawalpindi Dr Arshad Ali Sabir said in a statement.

The discovery of dengue larvae in houses had decreased from four to 2.5 per cent as a result of the targeted anti-dengue campaign of the Punjab government, he said according to the statement.

The number of patients suffering from dengue, he added, had also decreased and the situation was expected to improve further in the coming days.

The EDO said that citizens should, however, remain vigilant and personally inspect breeding-grounds of dengue in their houses.

He said that dengue cannot be eliminated without the cooperation of the citizens, and that they should play an active part in the anti-dengue campaign launched by the government, he added.

The EDO Health said as the in temperatures fall ahead of winter, the dengue mosquito finds safer places inside houses. He said people should use mosquito repellent lotions when they are outdoors.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2016.