Dengue cases fall as temperature drops

Health dept official says it will take few more weeks to get rid of dengue mosquito

ISLAMABAD:

Recent rains in the twin cities and the resultant drop in temperature has positively affected the number of dengue cases being reported in the area, especially in the city of Rawalpindi.

A Rawalpindi Health Department official, asking not to be named, told The Express Tribune that last week, over 80 people were tested positive for the virus on an average per day, which had dropped to 60 this week.



The official said that as many as 61 people tested positive for dengue fever in Rawalpindi city on Wednesday.

“There has been a slight decline in the number of dengue fever cases in the city though the temperature has dropped a lot,” he said.

The official said that it would probably take some more weeks to get rid of the dengue mosquito that so far had claimed 10 lives in Rawalpindi city.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall and hail on Wednesday afternoon had a pleasant affect on the weather in the twin cities.



The rain brought the mercury level down by three-to-four degrees Celsius.

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director-General Dr Ghulam Rasul said the ongoing second spell of winter rain in the twin cities was expected to end on Thursday (today).

After that, till November 7, it is expected, the weather would remain sunny but from November 8, a light to moderate spell of rain is expected to start which will continue till November 10, he said.

According to the Met office, in the next 24 hours, rain-thunderstorm with snowfall is expected over the hills at scattered places in upper K-P, Rawalpindi division, Islamabad, upper Fata, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, and isolated parts of Gujranwala and Lahore divisions.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2015.