Pakistan: 67 dengue cases detected across Punjab in one day

As many as 67 dengue cases have been detected across the Punjab province in a day, recording an alarming rise in the vector-borne disease during the monsoons, ARY News reported.

The Punjab Health Secretary Ali Jan Khan on Tuesday said that 67 dengue cases were found in the state in the past 24 hours, while 1,042 cases were reported in 36 districts of the state so far this year. He said that 369 dengue cases were found in Lahore, whereas, 28 new cases came to the fore in the provincial capital Lahore on Monday.

Overall 165 dengue cases were reported in Rawalpindi this year. In Faisalabad, six new patients were diagnosed with the dengue virus.

The secretary added that 61 patients are currently admitted to different hospitals across Punjab including 36 in Lahore. The provincial authorities allocated 2,678 beds in the government hospitals for dengue patients.

Meanwhile, in Sindh, the number of dengue cases increased to 896 this year as the mosquito-borne illness saw a sharp increase in its spread in August.

In August, Sindh as a whole recorded 731 dengue cases.

291 cases were reported in Karachi’s East district, 126 in Central, 79 in Korangi, 136 in South, 20 in West, 40 in Malir and 396 in Keamari. 103 cases were reported in Hyderabad, 31 in Mirpur Khas, 14 in Larkana, 13 in Sukkur and four in Shaheed Benazirabad.

Pakistan’s National Institute of Health (NIH) earlier in the month issued an advisory amid a potential threat of an increase in dengue fever cases in the monsoon season, ARY News reported.

The domestic water storage containers should be covered and cleaned on a weekly basis to ensure that dengue larva is not taking place. Insecticides should be applied during outbreaks as one of the emergency vector-control measures, the advisory said.

To avoid the threat of mosquito bites during the monsoon season, masses have been advised to wear clothes with full sleeves.

Dengue virus is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has rapidly spread in recent years around the world. Dengue virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti and, to a lesser extent, Ae. Albopictus, ARY News reported.