Deadly dengue: Cases of the viral fever on the rise

KARACHI: At least 13 cases of the dengue viral fever were reported in the city on Monday, raising the patients’ toll to 579 during the current year, according to Dengue Surveillance Cell, Sindh. The cell’s focal person, Dr M Shakeel Aamir Mullick, said that a total of 596 dengue fever cases had been reported in Sindh since January 2013 out of which 579 were reported in Karachi while the rest were reported in other parts of the province.  He said that six dengue patients died in the city this year. Mullick said that nine dengue patients were still admitted to different hospitals in Sindh while 13 new cases were reported in the city from August 9 to August 12 and another three cases were detected in Hyderabad. Authorities feared that the stagnant water pools left behind by the recent spell of monsoons in the city will worsen the situation as dengue mosquitoes are known to breed in these environments.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2013.