No let-up in dengue cases in Rawalpindi

Garrison hospitals receive 42 new suspected dengue patients

RAWALPINDI:

At least 42 new dengue cases surfaced in Rawalpindi in the last 24 hours. So far, 726 citizens have been infected by the dengue virus in the Rawalpindi district.

Some 157 beds in three hospitals of Rawalpindi are under-occupancy and of them, 70 were dengue positive patients while the results of the remaining were awaited. Two dengue patients admitted to the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) were said to be in critical condition.

The district administration has directed the health department to expedite dengue surveillance and destroy dengue larvae. Health teams have been directed to carry out fogging in all hotspots.

Meanwhile, the Adiala jail management has written a letter to the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner to send teams to carry out fumigation to eradicate the possible larvae.

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District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control Dr Sajjad Mehmood said that number of beds have been increased from 92 to 205 in allied hospitals of the city to deal with the rising number of dengue patients.

He said that of the new dengue cases reported during the last 24 hours, 14 were from the Rawalpindi Cantonment jurisdiction, five from Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation area, four from Potohar Town, one each from Gujar Khan and Taxila while addresses of the other five could not be confirmed.

The health officer said that there was no shortage of doctors or paramedical staff. He said maximum arrangements have been put in place to treat dengue patients. He said that full-scale indoor and outdoor surveillance was being carried out in various areas of the district to eliminate the dengue larvae.

Dr Sajjad advised the citizens to adopt precautionary measures against the dengue virus and use mosquito nets or repellents such as mats and coils to avoid mosquito biting.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2021.