Outbreak spreads: Dengue reaches Shergarh, another patient dies in Swat

MNA Ali Muhammad Khan visits patients at Mardan Medical Complex.

MINGORA/ MARDAN:

One person succumbed to dengue in Swat, while three cases of the virus were confirmed in Shergarh on Friday.

The casualty in Swat was the first in nine days, taking the official death toll to 26. Unofficial figures, however, place the number of casualties nearer to 47 as two unconfirmed deaths were reported earlier this week.

According to Saidu Teaching Hospital (STH) spokesman Dr Wasil Khan, 22-year-old Jameel Ahmad, a resident of Bishbanr village, who was hospitalised in STH, died from dengue hemorrhagic fever along with additional complications.

In the last 24 hours, 101 new patients were confirmed to be dengue positive after which the total number of dengue patients in the district reached 7,608, including 5,227 males and 2,381 females. Of these, 58 are admitted at STH.

“With the 58 new patients, the total number of registered patients at STH has now reached 3,994. Fifty two were discharged on the same day,” said Dr Wasil.

He added 224 patients were presently in the dengue cell. These include 166 males and 58 females, of which 34 patients are suffering from complications, while 27 are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Meanwhile, a ninth-grade student, a woman and her daughter were diagnosed with dengue in Shergarh after being brought to Mardan Medical Complex. These are the first cases to be reported in the area since the outbreak.

An official of the hospital said the wife and daughter of Imroz Khan, who lives near Government High School Shergarh, have been admitted. Similarly, ninth-grade student, Atif, was also brought in from the same area.

After receiving the news, MNA Engineer Ali Muhammad Khan visited the patients at the hospital and inquired about their health. He directed the district administration to take immediate steps to prevent the spread of the disease and told them to provide all available facilities to the patients.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2013.