Dengue fever continues to spread in Pakistan

September 27

 

The number of dengue fever cases is continuing to rise in Pakistan amid an outbreak blamed largely on floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the South Asian country.

 

In the last 24 hours, 398 new infections were reported across the southern Sindh province, said the provincial health department on Monday evening. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital, which reported 330 new cases.

 

With the newly reported dengue cases, the September figure to date for the province has risen to 5,780, bringing the local total tally to 8,349 this year.

 

In the last 24 hours, 333 more people were diagnosed with the disease in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the provincial health department reported on Monday night. The number of active cases in the province stands currently at 1,438 and the total number of cases this year has reached 6,958.

 

The eastern Punjab province reported 128 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said on Monday morning. Punjab's Rawalpindi city reported 45 new cases, followed by its capital Lahore with 33 cases. The total number of dengue cases in Punjab this year has now gone up to 5,049.

 

The national capital Islamabad reported 81 new dengue cases in the last 24 hours, the health authorities said on Monday night. The city's total tally has risen to 2,072 this year.

 

xinhua