Dengue crisis worsens, cases spread to Sindh
DOCTORS SAY CASES COULD BE HIGHER THAN REPORTED
Despite claims by the provincial governments and the health department of Islamabad, the dengue virus situation is worsening in the country and after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab, the cases are now being reported from Sindh.
Sindh health department yesterday said 38 people were affected by the virus in the last 24 hours — 18 from Karachi, 8 from Matiari, 6 from Mirpurkhas, 5 in Tharparkar, and one from Sujawal.
492 cases since October
The new cases have pushed the total number of cases in the province to 492 during October. However, according to the doctors and health officials, the number of dengue cases could be much higher than reported by the official sources.
Punjab is ahead of all other provinces and Islamabad, as the province is worst-affected, and according to the province’s Primary & Secondary Health Department (PSHD), 325 new dengue cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number to 4,876.
A day earlier, 262 people had tested positive for the virus in 24 hours and according to the provincial health department presently 610 dengue patients were undergoing treatment across Punjab, of which 330 were in Lahore’s hospitals alone. Punjab’s PSHD Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch has passed orders directing the officials to intensify dengue prevention activities across the province. After Punjab, Islamabad is singled out by the health authorities, as the city is facing a continuous rise in dengue fever cases. Wednesday turned out to be the third consecutive day when the capital reported over 100 dengue fever patients, 115, thus taking the overall number of cases in the capital to 1,458.
“On Tuesday, at least 113 people contracted the fever and five more succumbed to it in a day,” said the official, adding that over 200 patients are under treatment at different hospitals.