Punjab registers spike in dengue cases
Authorities set up 340-bed field hospital in Lahore
While Pakistan saw a significant decline in number of Covid-19 cases, reports of the increasing number of dengue patients are emerging from various parts of the country, particularly from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Islamabad.
In view of rising number of dengue cases, the Punjab government has decided to set up 340-bed field hospital in Lahore. According to Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid, the situation in the province was serious and Lahore was the worst hit.
“We have found more than 71,000 houses where dengue larva was detected,” she said adding fumigation teams along with health workers were active.
The health department claimed that 165 new positive cases of the dengue virus were reported during the last 24 hours in Punjab, 110 in Lahore alone.
The federal capital also reported 66 dengue positive cases from rural and 20 from the urban areas, a total of 86 a day earlier.
According to District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia, so far 657 cases of the virus have been reported in Islamabad — 435 from rural and 222 from urban areas.
Peshawar happens to be the most infected district by dengue as 70 cases were recorded in the province a day earlier, according to the provincial health department.
Peshawar campaign
A campaign has been launched by the District Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar, local government and other line departments to prevent spread of the disease.
The drive includes fumigation, awareness and free testing for dengue fever in the affected districts but the main focus is on Peshawar.