KARACHI, Nov 16: The death toll due to dengue epidemic rose to 39 in the city, as one more person believed to have contracted the mosquito caused fever died at a private hospital in the last 24 hours.

Dr Shakeel A Mullick, a senior official of the Dengue Fever Cell Sindh, said on Thursday that the deceased, Rameez, 12, of Malir, was admitted to Liaquat National Hospital on November 14 with a history of fever, chills, rash and bleeding. The patient, who was kept on ventilator, succumbed to the mosquito afflicted disease on November 15, he added.

With the latest death, the number of deaths in the province soared to 43, including death of four persons in the interior of Sindh. Since June the dengue virus has affected hundreds of people across Karachi and other places of the province.

According to official data, the number of suspected VHF or dengue patients who were admitted to hospitals during the last five months came to 3,684 on Thursday, out of which 1,275 detected positive for dengue fever. Fifty-four patients were brought to 12 city hospitals in the past 24 hours.

However, health experts felt that all relevant cases were not being recorded by the DFC or any other authority as there was no proper mechanism to make hospitals or general physicians binding for submitting relevant data.