Contrary to the tall claims the authorities in capital that they have completed the fumigation drive, the National Institute of Health (NIH) here on Friday confirmed 54 dengue cases in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The deadly decease has so far claimed 4 lives across the country.
The deadly dengue virus is spreading rapidly in the twin cities, as well as across the country and so far 2,413 people have been tested positive for dengue.
The NIH has tested 28 people positive for dengue in Islamabad with one death while the there are at least 26 confirmed cases of dengue in Rawalpindi with two deaths.
Punjab so far has been the worst hit province with 2,170 cases where as the death toll there is 01. Sindh has seen 1 death in Karachi with total 176 confirmed dengue cases.
According to the official data, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 8 dengue cases and 1 death in Nowshera while Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 5 confirmed cases with no death so far.
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Deputy Executive Director Dr Zulfiqar Ghauri, when contacted, said they had received total 17 patients; nine were admitted and out of those only two were tested dengue positive. He said the PIMS administration was fully prepared to handle the situation.
While talking to the Pakistan Today health experts were of the opinion that dengue was transmitted by the main vector ‘Aedes aegytpi’ mosquitoes. They said there were at least four distinct yet but closely related viruses.
They said recovery from infection by one could provide lifelong immunity against that serotype but it would confer only partial and transient protection against subsequent infection by the other three. There is good evidence that sequential infection increases the risk of more serious disease resulting dengue hemorrhage fever (DHF).
DHF was first recognised in the 1950s during the dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand. By 1970 nine countries had experienced epidemic DHF and now, the number has increased more than fourfold and continues to rise. Today emerging DHF cases are causing increased dengue epidemics in the Americas, and in Asia, where all four dengue viruses are endemic; DHF has become a leading cause of hospitalization and death among children in several countries.
An estimated 2.5 billion people live in over 100 endemic countries and areas where dengue viruses can be transmitted. Up to 50 million infections occur annually with 500 000 cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever and 22,000 deaths mainly among children. Prior to 1970, only 9 countries had experienced cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF); since then the number has increased more than fourfold.
