In an alarming development, dengue fever cases have registered a sharp rise in the Rawalpindi district as 36 more persons had become victims during the last 24 hours.
District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control (DCEPC), Dr Sajjad Mehmood, on Wednesday said that the number of dengue fever patients at district health facilities was continuously increasing while the district government, along with district health authority and others had made arrangements to control the situation.
During the last 24 hours, he said that 27 patients had arrived from the Potohar town, three from Taxila Cantonment, two from Rawalpindi Cantonment and Municipal Corporation, Rawalpindi area and one from Kahutta and Taxila rural area. He added that around 142 dengue fever suspects were brought to the city’s hospitals in the last 24 hours, out of which 36 tested positive,14 probable and nine non-dengue.
He also said that ten dengue patients with positive symptoms were admitted to the Holy Family Hospital, three to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital and one to the District Headquarters Hospital.
Dr Sajjad said that the district administration had sealed 352 premises, registered 897 FIRs, issued challans to 1,160, notices to 5,427, and a fine of Rs 3,145,500 was imposed on violations of SOPs in various areas of the district from January 1, 2022.
He said a full-scale fumigation drive was underway in different district localities, mainly where dengue larvae had been found.
The health officer said that that the prevailing weather was suitable for breeding dengue larvae and asked the concerned to remove stagnant water in outdoor and household settings to stop mosquitoes from breeding after rain and submerged water.
Dr Sajjad advised the residents to adopt preventive measures and inform the department immediately if dengue larvae were found in their houses as the government alone cannot check the spread of dengue larvae.
