Dengue cases in K-P soar past 7,000

Peshawar remains most affected as new cases slow

PESHAWAR: Even as snow covers the peaks and rains lash the valleys of the province, dengue cases in the province have soared past the 7,000 mark with 17 new cases reported over the past 24 hours. The number of cases in the provincial capital of Peshawar has soared past 2,500.

A report on new cases prepared by the Provincial Dengue Response Unit (PDRU) and the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSRS) system said that the total number of cases reported in the province have hit the 7,007 level. Health units across the province said that most of the dengue cases have been reported from the rural areas of the provincial capital, with the city accounting for a whopping 2,6663 cases alone.

It was followed by Swat in the Malakand Division with 582 cases.

As many as 481 cases were reported from Swabi in the Mardan division, followed by 431 cases from Kohat, 373 cases from Mansehra, 342 cases from Mardan, 325 from Haripur, 228 from Bajaur, 227 from Shangla, 215 from Nowshera, 189 from Lower Dir, 182 from Khyber Tribal District, 150 from Battagram, 145 from Abbottabad, 126 from Dera Ismail Khan, 112 from Buner, 71 in Charsadda, 41 om Laral. 38 in Lakki Marwat, 34 in Hangu, 28 in Bannu, nine in Kohistan, six each in Upper Dir and Malakand, one each in Tank, Kurram, and Mohmand Tribal District.

Only a few of the districts of the province, including those located in the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) remained safe from dengue. These districts include Chitral, Torghar, Orakzai Tribal District and the North and South Waziristan tribal districts.

The PDRU and IRSRS report stated that all the patients were provided treatment in different hospitals of the province and of those infected, some 6,993 were discharged after being treated for the virus.

At the moment, the report said, some 14 patients remain admitted in hospitals across the province. These include 11 patients in two hospitals of Peshawar including two in the special dengue wards at the Medical Teaching Institute (MTI) Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and nine in the dengue wards at the MTI Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH). A further three patients are admitted in a medical facility in Haripur,

Prevention measures

With cases still being reported from across the province, the provincial government has started fumigation campaigns in the hardest-hit areas of the province. Moreover, an anti-mosquito and dengue awareness drive and special mosquito prevention nets have been distributed amongst the public by the provincial government.

While the official figures state that there have been no casualties owing to dengue, independent but unverified figures shared with The Express Tribune claim that some people have succumbed to the viral fever and that they number more than those who succumbed to the virus last year.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2019.