Dengue onslaught continues in Rawalpindi

As many as 79 more people were infected with the deadly dengue virus in Rawalpindi during the last 24 hours, raising the tally of confirmed cases to 3,252.

Due to the change in weather, the severity of the dengue virus outbreak has started to decrease slightly. For the last two consecutive days, 33 and 28 people tested positive for the vector-borne disease in the garrison city.

The total number of dengue patients under treatment in three hospitals in the city has reached 216. As many as 46 dengue patients from different areas of Islamabad were transferred to hospitals in Rawalpindi for treatment. 104 patients are admitted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 87 to Holy Family Hospital and 25 patients are under treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital. Two citizens have so far lost their lives to the deadly disease.

District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control (DCEPC), Dr Sajjad Mehmood said Tuesday that among the new cases, 30 patients had arrived from Potohar town urban area, 17 from Rawalpindi Cantonment, 13 from Municipal Corporation, Rawalpindi, seven from Chaklala Cantonment, six from Potohar rural, two from Kahuta and one of each from Taxila Cantonment, Taxila city, Murree Gujjar Khan. He further informed that out of the total admitted patients, 131 were confirmed cases, with 93 belonging to Rawalpindi. The health officer stated that one patient was in a critical position at BBH.

Giving out details of the punitive actions, the health officer said that the district administration had registered 2,712 FIRs, issued challans to 7,439, notices to 1,0801, and sealed 615 premises, while imposing a fine of Rs7,625,416 for violations of SOPs in various areas of the district from January 1 to date.

The health officer said that prevailing weather had increased the mosquito breeding threats, and October was crucial for dengue spread. He urged the residents to clean their water tanks and remove stagnant water.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive District Health Authority Dr Ishaq said that the number of patients is decreasing due to the change in weather and the strong anti-dengue campaign.

He said that spraying and fogging are started without delay in the area from which reports of dengue patients are received.

The District Health Authority has once again issued an advisory for the citizens to avoid dengue, which includes wearing full-sleeved clothes, not allowing water to stand in the houses, taking precautionary measures in the rooms at night and in the rooms and carrying out mosquito repellent spray.

With additional input from APP

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2022.