KARACHI, March 13: The president of the Infection Control Society of Pakistan, Dr M. Rafiq Khanani, said on Tuesday that two more cases of dengue fever were confirmed during the last week in the city.

He told Dawn on Tuesday that he had reports that two blood samples of patients were detected positive for dengue virus and as such the number of dengue positive cases reported during the last 40 days reached five in the city.

He said two patients admitted with the history of high fever and rashes at a private hospital had also been confirmed as dengue positive in the last fortnight.

However, Dr Shafquat H. Abbasi, additional secretary health and focal person on dengue disease in the Sindh Health Department, said no hospital confirmed new dengue cases in the recent days, except three patients who were given treatment at the AKU and found dengue positive in February.

He said a patient with the history of high fever had been admitted to the Civil Hospital, but his blood report was awaited, while personnel of the Ziauddin Medical University on Tuesday informed him that two patients with symptoms similar to that of dengue fever patients were detected dengue negative cases.

However, Dr Rafiq Khannai feared that there were possibilities of two to three folds increase in the numbers of dengue fever or dengue hemorrhagic fever cases this year. He stressed that a system should be established under which not only the data pertaining to dengue were collected but at the same time response and interventions should also be ensured.