No respite from dengue as 66 more cases surface in Pindi

Health authorities say 174 patients under treatment in hospitals

RAWALPINDI:

There is no let-up in dengue virus cases as 66 more suspected patients landed in hospitals in the garrison city during the last 24 hours, taking the total toll to 790 in the whole district

Though health authorities and the district administration have been carrying out anti-dengue campaigns for the last three months or so, it has failed to produce tangible results.

A team of experts from Lahore has also failed to control the spread of dengue cases in Rawalpindi, forcing the administration to issue an alert to protect children from being infected by the dangerous mosquito.

According to the data issued by the health department, 174 patients were under treatment in the three allied hospitals of Rawalpindi while over 525 patients were being provided medical assistance at home.

Of the hospitalised patients, 62 were being treated at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 64 at the Holy Family Hospital and 48 at the Rawalpindi District Headquarters Hospital, with a majority of patients hailing from Dhaman Syedan and Chak Jalal Din, the health officials said adding that so far, one patient has died of the dengue virus.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the administration had planned to contain the dengue mosquito in hotspot areas to protect residents of other areas, however, the virus has spread to other areas, infecting a large number of citizens.

A team of experts from Lahore had also been called to Rawalpindi to assess the situation and stop the spread of dengue besides taking other measures including fogging, however, the team has failed to contain the spread of the lethal virus, the sources said adding that the experts have expressed their frustration over the rising number of cases.

Sources said that the district administration has issued an alert to protect children from dengue bite asking parents to get them wear full-sleeve clothes.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Dr Ishaq said that citizens should also shoulder responsibility and help authorities prevent the dengue spread by denying breeding grounds to mosquitoes in their houses and surroundings.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2022.