Dengue continues to wreak havoc as 69 new cases emerge in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The recent outbreak of dengue continued to wreak havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial capital as 69 new cases surfaced, it emerged on Thursday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan chaired a high-level session regarding the situation in Peshawar today as well. 

The KP government, in the wake of the mosquito-borne disease's outbreak, decided to run a fumigation campaign on a large scale. 

Imran, whose party has a ruling government in the province, made a special appeal to the public to take extra care of cleanliness in their homes.

The death toll from the disease has risen to seven so far. 

According to the Punjab government's spokesman, the medical teams working in Peshawar have treated 2,062 patients and screened 595 individuals till Tuesday. Out of 595, the presence of dengue was confirmed in 175 people.

CM Punjab directs establishing helpline

Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for the sake of awareness and guidance on dengue, has directed to set up a helpline in Pashto.

Those calling 0800-99000 will be given directions regarding dengue and adequate measures and precautions against it by a doctor in Pashto .

Most of the residents of KP remain unaware about the spread of the disease while open water reserves exist in abundance in several areas, which primarily lead to breeding of mosquito larvae, said an official. 

Health dept cautions education dept 

The KP health department has written a letter to the education department, stating that the latter can play a pivotal role in the control of the dengue outbreak. 

The letter outlines measures that can be undertaken by the education department to control the spread of the mosquito-borne virus. 

In the letter, students have been advised to wear full sleeves and use mosquito repellent ointments. Moreover, administrations of educational institutes have been directed to modify the morning assembly timings as the dengue mosquito attacks in that time period. 

The administrations have also been directed to halt all construction activities till the outbreak is over, arrange regular awareness sessions with students and teachers, and ensure no container is left with standing water where mosquitoes could breed. 

Khyber Pakhtunkuwa Dengue helpline

As many as three doctors would be available 24/7 to give service to dengue patients on helpline established at Provincial Disaster Managment Authority, said a notification issued by Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa Health Department,