Over 700 dengue cases reported from KP
islamabad — The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Friday said that a total of 738 dengue cases were reported so far from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) during the year.
According to an official of NIH, five deaths have been reported and 706 cases were reported from Peshawar while 19 cases were reported from Mansehra, five from Mardan, three from Abbottabad and two from Haripur.
He said that keeping in view the situation in KP, it is imperative for the provincial authorities to be vigilant about the dengue fever outbreak and take certain steps to contain it.
He said that due to the dengue surge in KP, the Field Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Division, NIH Islamabad has issued an advisory regarding prevention and control of dengue fever. He added, the objective of this advisory was to sensitise human and animal health care authorities specially in KP to further strengthen and improve the level of preparedness in prevention and control of dengue.
The advisory called upon hospitals to build their capacity for management of patients, to keep rapid response arrangements in place, and to maintain regular liaison with relevant departments and stakeholders.
He said that dengue has emerged as a worldwide problem since the 1950s. Detected first during 1994, the dengue fever has now become endemic in almost all geographical regions of Pakistan, he added. He said that there is no specific treatment for the disease and urged precautionary measures to prevent dengue fever.
He added, according to advisory for KP, community survey to determine density of vector mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) is essential besides identify and destroy mosquito larval habitats. He added that the dengue is cause by a mosquito that breeds in mainly man-made artificial containers in and around human dwellings.
Among these,the most preferred breeding sites are drums, traditional water tanks and house hold utensils, tyres and other discarded containers that hold fresh water. — APP