Deadly Dengue Fever Strikes Pakistan's Rawalpindi as Cases Rise Drastically

Dengue fever, which has affected major parts of our country, has impacted our neighboring countries as well. Pakistan’s Rawalpindi is reeling under the disease, as it continues to haunt population in this region of the country with much intensity. In fact, the number of confirmed patients being reported at healthcare facilities every day hints that the situation is getting out of control.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused due to the bite of aedes aegypti. It typically occurs in sub-tropical and tropical climate, during the monsoons, when the weather is humid, allowing the mosquitoes to breed. The symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, rashes, and acute body ache. The disease can also prove to be deadly in nature if it’s not diagnosed and treated on time.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Tuesday reveals that the three teaching hospitals in town including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital have tested another 355 patients positive in last 48 hours that amounts to over 177 patients of the infection reported per day.

In fact, the agency also said that hospitals, on an average, were receiving around 110 dengue patients per day. According to health experts, if the number of confirmed patients continues to rise with the same trend, the hospitals would be receiving over 300 patients per day within a week or so and it may not be possible then for the hospitals to accommodate dengue fever patients.

The News also reported that on Tuesday, as many as 542 dengue fever patients were undergoing treatment at the three teaching hospitals that have a capacity of accommodating not over 150 patients with infectious diseases in wards. The hospitals have been utilising space in other departments like ENT and emergency departments to accommodate dengue fever patients while corridors have also been converted into wards to facilitate patients of the infection.

The confirmation of another 355 patients positive for dengue fever in last two days has taken the total number of positive patients so far reported at the allied hospitals to 2,579 while the infection has already claimed three lives.