ISLAMABAD: After infecting over 2,000 residents of Islamabad, the dengue mosquito seems to have lost steam as only six cases were reported in the federal capital in the last 24 hours.

According to a document of the District Health Office available with Dawn, five of the six cases were reported from the rural areas of the capital.

Two cases were reported from Tarlai and one case each was reported from Alipur, G-9, Koral and Tarnol. Moreover, 17 patients are currently admitted to different hospitals.

During the current season, 2,076 dengue cases were reported in Islamabad compared to 3,759 cases in the corresponding period in 2024.

According to experts, the mosquito cannot survive in low temperatures and it is believed that at around 10° C it becomes torpid and unable to move.

ICT’s focal person for dengue cases Dr Mazhar Ali told Dawn that there were different reasons for the fewer cases compared to last year.

“Although this year summer started a bit earlier, 25 degree to 35 degree Celsius is the ideal temperature for mosquito breeding. However, we doubled the human resource for taking measure to stop the spread of the mosquitoes through identifying dengue breeding sites and quelling the larva,” he said.

When asked if the mosquito cannot survive at less than 10 degrees centigrade, Dr Mazhar said that it was correct but with the passage of time mosquitoes were becoming more resilient to low temperatures.

“I have read some studies which claimed that the mosquito has reached the continent of Antarctica. It shows that in future dengue season maybe prolonged as in the past we had 15th November as the cut-off date for the dengue season,” he explained.

“It shows that now we need to ensure that the dengue sites should be eradicated and for that more human resources will be required to quell larva,” Dr Mazhar said.

The dengue virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The most common symptoms of dengue are high-grade fever accompanied by joint and muscular aches. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for dengue but early detection and proper medical care can lower mortality. Otherwise the disease may turn into a life-threatening haemorrhagic fever, which may lead to bleeding and dangerously low blood pressure. Rapid and unplanned urbanisation and a lack of sanitation and climate change are contributing to a surge in dengue infections.

In Islamabad, dengue season usually starts in March and ends in November. Pakistan has experienced many outbreaks of dengue since 1994 with the major ones reported in 2005, 2011 and 2019. Around 6,000 cases of dengue with 52 deaths were reported from Karachi in 2005; over 21,000 cases with 350 deaths were reported from Lahore in 2011 and around 50,000 cases with 79 deaths from across the country in 2019.

It is estimated that there are over 100-400 million cases of dengue worldwide each year and 3.8 billion people live in the dengue endemic countries, most of which are in Asia, Africa and the Americas. The largest number of dengue cases reported was in 2023. Dengue cases are likely to increase and expand geographically due to climate change and urbanisation.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2025