Dengue patients are on the rise as 15 new cases were confirmed in Rawalpindi on Saturday, taking the total up to 79, it has been learnt.
According to data collected from the district public health department, of the 79 confirmed dengue cases, 58 are from different areas of Rawalpindi, while the remaining 21 are from the adjoining districts of Attock, Islamabad, and Chakwal.
As far as suspected patients are concerned, 44 new patients were admitted to Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) and District Headquarter Hospital.
The total number of visitors to the three hospitals suspected of having dengue fever has exceeded 600.
Sources in BBH said that a man died on Saturday due to high fever and was suspected of suffering from dengue. However, this was not confirmed by hospital officials. Dr Javaid Hayat, the spokesperson for the three hospitals on dengue, was unaware of any death owing to the dengue fever.
Talking to The Express Tribune, the doctors said that only one death due to dengue has been confirmed in Rawalpindi
so far,which was on August 12.
Hayat said that even though deaths did occur in the big hospitals, none have been attributed to the fatal virus by the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) tests.
The elected representatives are busy pamphleteering to increase awareness among masses about the virus.
MNA Shakeel Anjum of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz said that the low number of dengue patients in Rawalpindi was a result of effective measures taken by the administration and urged the public people to adopt precautionary measures against the virus.
In a related development, the students of Rawalpindi Medical College and the Young Doctors Association protested on Murree Road, demanding that the University of Health Sciences Lahore postpone exams due to dengue’s prevalence in the city.
The students gathered outside Rawalpindi Press Club and urged the Punjab Government to put off the exams while the virus is looming.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2011.
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