Dangerous rise: Dengue’s bite continues to sting

Health officials say recent rains in twin cities have made matters worse .

ISLAMABAD:

The unhindered spread of dengue fever in Rawalpindi has alarmed health officials with 29 fresh cases reported in the last 48 hours, taking the year’s toll to over 700. Currently, 16 union councils (UCs) of the city are affected by the disease.

Out of the total cases, 374 alone have been reported from Rawal Town which has become a potential source of threat to other areas and is making eradication difficult for the district health department.



On the other hand, recent rain spells in the city have made the situation worse for the district health department by hampering efforts to curtail the spread of the disease.

“We have to begin all efforts from start again,” said an official of the health department.

The current situation has worried health department officials because if adequate measures are not taken in time, an outbreak-like situation could occur as the cases have been increasing at an alarming rate.

“The recent rain in the city has formed small water pockets in a lot of dengue-prone areas and the accompanying bright sunny days have provided favourable breeding grounds to dengue fever mosquito,” said Dr Ehsan Ghani, surveillance officer at the Rawalpindi District Health Department.

He said though the department was expecting the rain to help bring down the temperature which would make mosquitoes inactive, but sadly things turned the other way around.

The area of Rawal Town has become really challenging for the health department, he said, adding that the majority of cases are reporting from there.“This area has become a hub and may transmit the virus to other parts of the city,” said Ghani.

Capital’s cases

This year, a total of 18 cases of dengue fever have been reported from Islamabad out of which 12 were from the urban areas and six from rural, according to Islamabad Capital Territory Assistant District Health Officer Dr Najeeb Durrani.

He said so far 75 patients tested positive for dengue fever in the capital out of which 34 were from Fateh Jang and the rest from Rawalpindi, Mansehra and the surrounding areas.



He was of the view that a patient infected with dengue fever brought to the capital poses a threat to its residents.

“If a normal mosquito bites a dengue-infected person admitted in the hospital, it will get infected itself and spread the disease,” he said.

Durrani further said that more rains in the capital will bring down the temperature and halt the outdoor movement of dengue mosquito movement, however, they will force the mosquito to move inside houses to find a warm environment to breed.

“Now it is the responsibility of every individual to take extra precautions to stop the mosquito from getting inside the house,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2014.