RAWALPINDI: As many as 42 new dengue patients reported to the three government hospitals and took the tally of the mosquito-borne cases of the season to 2,072.

Since August 1, as many as 2,072 confirmed dengue patients have reported to the three hospitals. However, the number of confirmed patients from August 1 to December 31 last year was 3,948.

Professor Dr Mujeeb Khan, head of infectious diseases department at Holy Family Hospital, feared that more women, children and old-age people would suffer from the disease as dengue mosquitoes will enter houses due to the drop in outside temperature.

He said the dengue mosquitoes would not survive in a chilly weather and will enter warm places such as inside houses. He said the dengue virus’ low transmission period will start in the winter when the temperature would drop to 10 Celsius degrees.

He said by mid-November, people should wear full-sleeves, use mosquito repellents, carry out anti-dengue spray in their houses and have healthy food to maintain a good immune system.

“The number of dengue patients is increasing in hospitals with daily arrival of 50 to 55 patients,” he said.

He said dengue the ward will soon be shifted to Red Crescent Hospital as renovation work was starting at the HFH. The administration of Rawalpindi Medical University is working to arrange 100 beds at the nearby hospital. On the other hand, a senior official of the health department said no anti-dengue spray had been conducted in many cantonment areas. “The Cantonment General Hospital did not give any data about the patients,” he said. However, a senior cantonment board official said teams were working in their respective areas.

Meanwhile, a total of 89 patients were getting treatment in hospitals and 76 of them were confirmed patients while dengue serology reports of 13 patients were still awaited.

As many as 32 patients in Holy Family Hospital (HFH), 27 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 19 are in District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, 11 patients are in tehsil headquarters hospitals of Taxila, Wah and Kallar Syedan.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2023