Rampaging mosquitoes: 13 more fall prey to the dengue onslaught

11 cases from the capital, two from Rawalpindi reported in the last 24 hours.

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI:

At least 11 confirmed patients of the virus were admitted in the hospitals of the capital, as the dengue onslaught continued on Wednesday. Similarly, in Rawalpindi two more cases of dengue were confirmed taking the total number to 22 in the city in the last two days.

According to the hospital sources, 10 patients were admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and one was admitted Polyclinic Hospital.

A Pims official said that blood samples of 330 patients were for tests; of these 61 samples tested positive for dengue. “Fifty-one of them have recovered while the remaining 10 are still receiving treatment,” he said.

Meanwhile Polyclinic Spokesperson Dr Sharif Astori said that a total of 30 suspected patients were admitted to the hospital recently out which the blood samples of seven including four women tested positive for the disease. “Six dengue patients in the hospital have recovered, while one is still under treatment,” Dr Astori said.

Similarly, reports from the three public hospitals of Rawalpindi confirmed that half of the 22 dengue positive cases were from the urban area of the city. Moreover, test reports for another 62 suspected patients are awaited from National Institute of Health.

‘Prevention is better than cure’

In order to avert dengue virus, all possible preventive measures must be adopted as prevention is better than cure, said Dr Javed Hayat, Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS) at the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) in Rawalpindi.

Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fevers are caused by any of the dengue family virus. This is also widely known as “break-bone fever” due to the severe joint pain caused during the attack.

Discussing the measures being taken in Rawalpindi to curb the spread of the disease, District Health Officer Dr Khalid Randhawa said they were spraying suspect areas in the entire district to combat dengue.

The symptoms and causes

Dr Javed Hayat said dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows other symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands and rash. Other signs of dengue fever include bleeding gums, severe pain behind the eyes, and red palms and soles, he added.

The virus is not contagious and cannot be spread directly from person to person. There must be a person-to-mosquito-to-another-person pathway, he added. APP with additional information from Mudassar Raja

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2011.