Dengue outbreak: Daily caseload hits record high

ICT admin struggles to cope with evolving situation as cases soar to 1,150

ISLAMABAD:

The federal capital witnessed the single highest number of dengue cases as another 121 patients were admitted to hospitals during the last 24 hours.

The total number of dengue cases soared to 1,150 in the federal capital.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Islamabad District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeem Zia said that 121 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours.

“Around 218 dengue patients are currently under treatment at various hospitals in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad while 536 people have recovered so far,” Dr Zia said.

He said that the death toll from the dengue virus stands at five. The district health officer said that 1,151 people got infected from the dengue virus in Islamabad and of them, 485 patients were brought to outpatient departments (OPDs) in hospitals.

Read 42 new dengue cases surface in Rawalpindi

According to the Islamabad DHO, 360 dengue patients were brought to Holy Family Hospital, 87 to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 19 to District Headquarters Hospital Rawalpindi, 53 to PIMS, 139 to Federal General Hospital Islamabad and 16 to Capital Development Authority Hospital.

The Islamabad DHO said that over 350 patients from Islamabad visited private hospitals and laboratories of the twin cities whereas 771 cases emerged from rural areas of the federal capital and 380 from urban areas.

In Rawalpindi, 1,000 people have been infected by the dengue virus including 78 new cases during the last 24 hours, he said.

He said that of the 1,000 dengue patients, 722 have been discharged from hospitals after full recovery. Dr Zia said that the district administration has directed the health department to expedite dengue surveillance and fumigation to eliminate the dengue larvae after the twin cities witnessed the surge in dengue cases.

On the other hand, health experts expressing concern over the surge in infections have warned that the dengue threat will persist until the temperatures drop.

Three coronavirus patients die

Three more patients lost their lives to the Covid-19 in Rawalpindi in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll in the district to 1,180.

Read more Twin cities see rise in dengue cases

Two patients died at the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant and one at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital. The coronavirus positivity ratio has dropped to 1.05 per cent as 14 people were tested positive for the coronavirus. A total of 1,340 people were tested during the last 24 hours. So far, 34,202 patients have recovered from coronavirus. Of 51 infected patients currently admitted to hospitals, 42 were on oxygen and six on ventilators while 342 were observing home isolation.

Meanwhile, as many as 2.328 million children aged between 9 months to 15 years would get anti-measles and rubella vaccine under a 13-day long drive which will be carried out in the entire Rawalpindi district from November 15 to 27.

Under the drive, 1,812 skilled persons, 1,812 team assistants and 3,368 social mobilisers would visit 210 union councils of the district including 46 UCs of the Metropolitan Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR), 36 tehsils in Rawalpindi, 28 areas of Rawalpindi Cantonment, 33 union councils of Gujar Khan, 14 UCs of Kahutta, 11 UCs of Kalar Syeda, 10 UCs of Kotli Sattian,15 UCs of Murree and 17 union councils of tehsil Taxila.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2021.