KARACHI, Nov 22: The number of dengue fever patients in Karachi on Wednesday swelled to 4,008, which is about 76 per cent of the total cases reported in the country so far.

According to data provided by the Dengue Fever Cell of the Sindh Health department, 64 more patients afflicted with mosquito-borne diseases were rushed to 10 government and private hospitals in the city during the past 24 hours ending at 2pm on Wednesday.

The dengue fever has killed 46 persons, including 42 in Karachi, since June 2006, while the number of dengue-positive cases came as 1,380 in the city. Dr Tajammul Baig of the DFC said that the new patients’ number rose to 64 in the province on Wednesday against 50 as reported on Tuesday.

Patients were brought to city hospitals with the history of high fever, bleeding, vomiting, pains and rash from various areas, including Bilal Colony, Shah Faisal Colony, Khokhrapar, Agrataj Colony, Gulsitan-i-Jauher, Nazimabad, Korangi, Saddar, Malir, Baldia Town, Mauripur, Civil Lines, Chanesar Goth, Karimabad, New Town, Moosa Lane, Rashid Minhas Road and the Defence Housing Authority.

A maximum of 21 patients were admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital during the past 24 hours, while 14 more patients arrived at Dr Ziauddin Hospital and 13 at the Liaquat National Hospital. As many as 208 patients are still admitted to various city hospitals.

The in-house patients’ position in city hospitals on Wednesday remained as follows: AKU-34 (21 new patients), LNH-26 (13), CHK-11 (6), ZUH-39 (14), JPMC-20 (3), BTH-5 (2), NICH 10 (no new patient), ASH 44 (0), Baqai Hospital 3 (2), Patel Hospital 2 (1), Darul Shifa Hopsital 6 (1), and Kutiyana Hopsital 3 (1).

In the meantime, Dr Tahir Shamsi, a consultant haematologist and transplant physician at Bismillah Taqi Institute of Health Science, said the researchers at the institute in collaboration with the dengue branch of the Centre for Diseases Control, USA, had found out that the prevailing dengue epidemic in Karachi was caused by serotype DEN3.

Ninety-three per cent of the samples drawn from dengue-infected patients at our institute had been confirmed as the DEN3 serotype by the USA centre, Dr Shamsi said, adding that the latest findings wuld surely help in planning to control future epidemics.