Health officials on Sunday advised the citizens to remain vigilant to condense the spread of dengue virus, minimizing its effects in wake of prevailing high risk season for mosquito-borne diseases.
According to them, dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults and in case of dengue like symptoms patient should immediately consult to medical practitioner.
Medical expert Dr Sharif Astori from Federal Government Polyclinic (FGPC) hospital said that dengue viruses are transmitted to humans through the bites of infective female Aedes mosquitoes.
He added mosquitoes generally acquire the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person. He said that the virus circulates in the blood of infected humans for two to seven days, at approximately the same time as they suffer from fever.
He added the clinical features of dengue fever vary according to the age of the patient. He said that after virus incubation for eight to ten days, an infected mosquito is capable, during probing and blood feeding, of transmitting the virus to susceptible individuals for the rest of its life.
He said that dengue haemorrhagic fever is a potentially deadly complication that was characterized by high fever, haemorrhagic phenomena. Dr Wasim Khawaja from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) said that dengue is a mosquito-borne infection, which in recent years has become a major public health concern.
He said that the rapid growth of urban population is bringing ever greater numbers of people into contact with this vector, especially in areas that are favorable for mosquito breeding like in places where household water storage is common and where solid waste disposal services are inadequate.—APP
