The Rawalpindi administration had registered as many as 2,225 FIRs on violations of anti-dengue SOPs from January 1 to date in various areas of the Rawalpindi district, said District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control Dr Sajjad Mehmood here Sunday.
Giving details of the punitive actions, the health officer said that the district administration, in collaboration with allied departments, had sealed 466 premises and issued tickets to 718, and a fine of Rs 34,53,000 was imposed on violations of dengue SOPs in 2023.
Dr Sajjad informed that around 261 confirmed cases had been reported in the district this year, adding “Presently,80 patients were admitted to the city’s allied hospitals out of which 50 were confirmed cases.”
He added that no patient had died so far while 195 patients had been discharged from public health facilities after treatment.
During the last 24 hours,16 more cases were reported while 69 FIRs, six tickets, and eight premises were sealed. He added that anti-dengue activities were also being carried out across the district to control the breeding of larvae, however, he urged the residents to clean their water tanks and not leave any place wet with stagnant water.
He said that the number of dengue patients had increased gradually in Rawalpindi during the week, adding five to six patients were reported daily last week which had increased to 15 to 18 patients daily this week. He said that if the situation persists it can increase to 70 patients daily in September.
The health officer informed that for the last two to three years, the number of dengue patients had started increasing from the end of August, which continuously increased till October 10. He said that during the first six months of the year, the number of dengue patients was in the hundreds and predicted that if protective measures were not adopted it would increase to thousands in the next six months. Dr Sajjad added that this year the number of dengue patients was less than 200 and there was a risk that the number could reach 4,000 in the coming months. He said that the district health authority had created an integrated system for dengue control and dengue larvae were being destroyed by sweeping operations in the area and houses from where dengue patients were being reported.
