December 01, 2006	Friday	Ziqa'ad 9, 1427

KARACHI, Nov 30: The death toll in the mosquito-caused epidemic rose to 44 in the city as one more patient suspected to be suffering from dengue fever died at a hospital during the last 24 hours ending at 2pm on Thursday.

Dr Tajammul Baig of Dengue Fever Cell of the provincial health department said the deceased, Nadia,16, was admitted to the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) about a week back, died on Wednesday evening.

According to Dr Baig, an LNH doctor said that the patient was a resident of Afridi Colony and was in severe health conditions.

With this death, the number of fatalities rose to 15 at the Liaquat National Hospital, while the overall number of dengue-related deaths soared to 48 in the province.

According to the DFC data released on Thursday, 27 new patients were admitted to six city hospitals during the last 24 hours. A maximum of 10 patients suspected to have contracted dengue fever were brought to the LNH.

The patients’ position in different city hospitals on Thursday remained as follows:

AKUH 19 (2), LNH-44 (10), CHK-3 (0), Dr Ziauddin Hospital-32(7), JPMC 7(4), Bismillah Taqee Hospital-4(zero), NICH-1(0), Abbassi Shaheed Hospital-26(3), Baqai Hospital-5 (zero), , Patel Hospital-1(1), and Kutiyana hospital-1(zero).

The total number of dengue patients admitted to various hospitals in Karachi since June 2006 reached 4,239 out of which 1,406 have been tested positive for dengue fever.