Rising toll: Woman dies of dengue in Pindi

Hospitals in garrison city confirm 14 new cases of viral fever

RAWALPINDI: A 40-year-old woman reportedly died of dengue fever in Rawalpindi on Saturday even as 14 more cases of the disease were confirmed at the three public hospitals of the garrison city.

Saturday’s incident takes the toll of people who died while suffering from dengue to six in Rawalpindi this year, though this is only the second Rawalpindi native who died while suffering from the viral fever.

Sumera Bibi, a resident of Asghar Mall scheme, was brought to Holy Family Hospital a few days ago with high fever. Later, she was diagnosed with dengue.

A doctor at the HFH, while confirming to The Express Tribune that Sumera had died at the hospital, said that she had been referred to the facility from another hospital in the city after she was diagnosed with fever related to dengue.

At the HFH, she underwent tests which confirmed that she was suffering from the viral disease.

She later contracted malaria while still suffering from dengue, the doctor added.

The complications badly affected her breathing and she had to be put on ventilators. However, she passed away on Saturday afternoon.

Dengue cases cross 3,200

Meanwhile, 14 new cases of dengue were confirmed at the three allied hospitals of Rawalpindi on Saturday, taking the total number of confirmed reported cases in the city to 3,201.

Officials at the hospital said that among the new cases, five were reported at the HFH, eight at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, and one at District Headquarters Hospital.

This year, there has been a surge in the total number of dengue fever in the twin cities, though the bulk of cases reported have originated from Islamabad. Of the 3,200 cases reported this year, some 2,200 have been reported from the capital. Over 700 have been reported from Rawalpindi.

The continued reports of new dengue patients in November has been a cause of concern for authorities who expected cases to go down with the advent of winter.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2016.