KARACHI, Dec 21: While government quarters have suspended their dengue epidemic surveillance activities since last week, two more patients succumbed to the viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF), taking the overall tally of VHF-related fatalities in the city to 48.

Health officials said on Thursday that since the epidemic had subsided significantly, the provincial health department’s Dengue Fever Cell had stopped collecting data on December 16. They believe that dengue virus has been suppressed due to cool weather conditions but it may re-emerge in April.

However, the Aga Khan University Hospital, which has regularly been sending details of VHF cases being handled by it to the officials concerned and media, reported two more deaths.

The two deceased, a male and a female, were resident of Karachi and were admitted to hospitals for treatment of VHF some time back. The woman died on December 19 and the man on December 21, it is learnt.

Some city hospitals are still receiving VHF or DF patients and, at present, there are nine such in-house patients at the AKU Hospital.