20 dengue cases confirmed across K-P

Officials claim awareness campaigns had people cautioned about taking precautions to guard against the disease

PESHAWAR: With the monsoon season beginning in earnest, as many as 20 cases of dengue fever have so far been registered at different hospitals in the province, the provincial health department has said.

Officials stated that this was a marked reduction from the hundreds of cases which used to be reported in the province in previous years with a majority of the cases hailing from the northern areas such as Shangla, Swat and other hilly regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Officials claimed that repeated awareness campaigns had people cautioned about taking precautions to guard against dengue in the aftermath of rains.

From the provincial capital, at least four fresh cases of dengue were reported at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH). The facility has registered 14 cases so far this season with most of those cases from Peshawar. Six other cases were registered around K-P

KTH officials stated that a large number of people had sought treatment at the facility for fever but blood tests showed that only 14 [including four who were registered recently] were found to have been infected by the fever.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2017.