Another 17 dengue patients have been confirmed in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, increasing the toll of affected patients to 196 in Punjab this year.
Health Department has declared Rawalpindi sensitive for dengue virus.
Health experts say the illness spreads because of poor hygiene conditions, and heavy monsoon rain provides ideal conditions for dengue-carrying mosquitoes to thrive in stagnant waters.
The disease is a threat to nearly half of the world’s population. Of the estimated 220 million people infected each year, two million – mostly children in Latin America and Asia – developed a severe form called dengue hemorrhagic fever. There is currently no cure or vaccine for dengue fever.