RAWALPINDI: As rains continue to lash the garrison city and adjoining hill station Murree for the last two weeks with occasional gaps, the number of dengue patients has risen in the two cities setting alarm bells ringing.

A total of 34 dengue cases have been reported so far out of which 12 patients arrived in hospitals from Ghel union council in Murree in the last three days. Even Deputy District Health Officer Mohammad Nauman, who was deputed in Ghel to carry out the anti-dengue drive, contracted the virus.

In Rawalpindi, most patients arrived from Rawalpindi Cantonment Board’s area where no fogging activity had been launched.

Deputy Commissioner Murree Agha Zaheer Shirazi told Dawn that the number of dengue patients had increased in Murree which was unusual as traditionally, the number of dengue patients reported from Murree in the past decade was low.

However, he said 12 patients had surfaced in Ghel union council.

“There are two reasons: the temperature in Ghel is comparatively warmer than other union councils of Murree and second, people stored water in ground pitches and tanks where dengue larvae were found,” he said.

Mr Shirazi said surveillance of the area had been carried out and dengue larvae removed while anti-dengue medicines had been sprayed to avoid further spread of the virus.

Apart from this, he said two mobile clinics had been deputed to check patients and provide medical treatment on emergency basis. He said dengue tests of all residents of the union council had been conducted without any cost and provided medical treatment.

The deputy commissioner said no such case had been reported on Monday and hopefully, further spread of the disease would stop.

He said the District Health Authority had been asked to expedite work in all union councils of Murree on emergency basis, adding that any negligence would not be tolerated and the hill station would be saved from all kinds of viruses.

The deputy commissioner said in the past most people who worked in Rawalpindi and Islamabad contracted the virus but in the hill station, there was no such issue reported in the past one decade.

On the other hand, Rawalpindi District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Ehsan Ghani said the number of dengue patients had increased in Murree and Rawalpindi but there was a difference as 12 patients came from one union council of Murree while in Rawalpindi eight patients surfaced from different union councils.

He held the above normal rains in the region responsible for the emergence of dengue larvae and said dengue surveillance had been continuing in Rawalpindi since March and it would be further expedited.

Dr Ghani said in Murree, 50 beds had been allocated in Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Murree and Samli Sanatorium for dengue patients while in the garrison city, Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) had activated its dengue clinics as well as dengue wards in Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital.

According to official data, as many as 12 patients were admitted to Holy Family Hospital and eight of them were confirmed dengue patients.

A total of 4.1 million houses had been checked under indoor dengue surveillance from March to August 4 while dengue larvae were found in 46,282 houses and 9,880 commercial sites.

So far, the Rawalpindi district administration had imposed a fine of Rs3.1 million on violators of dengue standard operating procedures, 1,090 sites had been sealed and 1,743 FIRs lodged.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2025