34 dead as dengue cases in Pakistan cross 15,000

• Pakistan has recorded 15,719 cases of dengue fever this year to date
• Of the total cases, recorded till October 13, the majority, 5,382, were recorded in Punjab.
• Punjab Primary and Healthcare Department Secretary Imran Sikander advises citizens to avoid letting water accumulate in residential areas.

Pakistan has recorded 15,719 cases of dengue fever this year to date, while 34 people have died, as per the official data.

Of the total cases, recorded till October 13, the majority, 5,382, were recorded in Punjab, as per data provided to Geo.tv by the federal ministry of health.

In Punjab, 12 people have died so far. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3,300 cases of mosquito-borne disease have been recorded and four deaths.

Over in Sindh, 2,530 dengue infections have surfaced this year, while the virus has claimed 12 lives. In Balochistan, 1,841 cases have been recorded while there have been no deaths. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir as well no deaths have been reported but the tally of cases in the federating unit is 905 to date.

In Islamabad, 1,761 cases have been recorded of the virus and six people have died.

Of the cases reported in Punjab, the majority, 74%, have been from the city of Lahore alone, notes the data of Punjab’s primary and secondary healthcare department.

In fact, in the last 24 hours, 231 dengue patients were recorded in the province, of which 146 were reported from Lahore, 39 from Rawalpindi, six from Sheikhupura, five from Nankana and Sargodha, amongst others.

Director General Health Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar has warned of the situation worsening in the coming year.

"The last outbreak was seen in 2019, largely in north Punjab and KP. 2020 was silent and we have this surge again. Typically, in endemic countries you expect large dengue outbreaks with a 3-year cycle. Hence, 2022 is likely to be severe," he said.

Imran Sikander, the secretary of the primary and healthcare department, has advised citizens to avoid letting water accumulate in residential areas. He added that to date, across the province, health officials have inspected 421,151 indoor places in order to eradicate the virus.

There has been a sharp surge in the number of those who have fallen ill by the mosquito-borne virus in comparison to last year, especially after the monsoon season in the province.

While the first confirmed outbreak of dengue fever was recorded in Pakistan in 1994, Pakistan has been experiencing an epidemic of dengue fever since 2010 as highlighted by the World Health Organisation.

Once bitten by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, an infected person will experience flu-like, including high-grade fever, maculopapular rash, headache, severe pain behind the eyes and also pain in joints and muscles