KARACHI, Sept 16: As many as 16 new patients suspected of having contracted the dengue fever were admitted to different hospitals across the city on Tuesday.

This was stated by Sindh Minister for Health Dr Saghir Ahmed in a statement issued here. The minister said that so far around 598 cases of the dengue fever had been brought to different health facilities of the province during the current year, of them 172 cases had been tested positive for dengue.

With the addition of 16 new cases, the total number of patients, suspected of having contracted dengue, admitted to various city hospitals has increased to 52. The minister said that 24 patients had been discharged from the hospitals after receiving necessary medical attention.

He said that six patients had been admitted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Laiquat National Hospital (two), Dr Ziauddin Hospital (six) and two had been admitted to the National Institute of Blood Donors.

The minister also directed all the district hospitals in the province not to charge a single penny for the treatment of dengue and also to ensure provision of screening and platelet facilities free of cost.

Meanwhile, the Sindh Minister for Labour, Amir Nawab Khan, directed the relevant officials to take precautionary measures at all the hospitals of the Sindh Employees’ Social Security Institution (Sessi) against dengue fever and to ensure proper cleanliness at all the health facilities.—PPI