RAWALPINDI: As many as 17 dengue patients arrived in three government hospitals on Tuesday, taking the tally of cases in the district to 277, with the District Health Authority warning of a possible spike in the cases.

According to the data of Rawalpindi Medical University, 89 dengue patients are still admitted to hospitals — 46 patients in Holy Family Hospital, 16 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, 25 in District Headquarters Hospital and two in Kallar Syedan Tehsil Headquarters Hospital.

Taking notice of the spread of the virus, the health authority issued warning and urged citizens to take precautionary measures, adding if the current trend continued, by mid-September the daily number of cases would reach 70.

Meanwhile, the district administration urged the residents to cooperate with the District Health Authority and adopt safety measures to check further spread of the virus.

Speaking at a meeting, the deputy commissioner said all resources were being used for dengue prevention.

He said it was impossible to control dengue without public cooperation.

He said dengue surveillance should be made more effective.

Because of last night’s rainwater, there may be an increase in the breeding of dengue.

He said water should not accumulate anywhere and timely measures should be taken.

He said dengue-affected union councils should be completely swept and fogging should be done so that the dengue mosquito cannot infect more people.

During a briefing, it was informed that 17 cases of dengue had been reported in Rawalpindi in the last 24 hours.

So far, the number of dengue patients in Rawalpindi district has reached 277.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2023