Dengue kills one in Khyber district

PESHAWAR/NOWSHERA:

Dengue has claimed yet another life in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) increasing the officially confirmed death toll to five.

As per the unofficial estimates thousands have contracted dengue and dozens have been killed in flood-hit districts as homeless flood victims are especially vulnerable to malaria and dengue.

Officials told The Express Tribune that 361 new cases have been reported in the province and one man has died in Khyber tribal district of dengue.

Peshawar is the worst hit with 144 cases, followed by Mardan with 88 cases, Malakand 40 cases and Dir Lower 28 cases. Similarly, 23 cases of dengue have been reported from Haripur and six from Kohat district.

In Nowshera, locals claimed that five people have died in one village of dengue and dozens have been killed by the disease across the district following the floods.

They said that officials are reluctant to confirm the cases as per strategy but now flood survivors are being killed by malaria and dengue due to lack of preventive measures by government.

Government has declared emergency in five most affected districts where dengue outbreak has been reported.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2022.