Punjab reports 459 new dengue cases

• Another patient suffering from dengue succumbs to the disease in Rawalpindi.
• 64 new cases reported overnight from the city.
• Over 450 new cases of dengue virus surface across Punjab, with Lahore being the most affected.

LAHORE: With dengue continuing to wreak havoc in the country, 459 cases were reported in Punjab overnight, out of which 335 were from Lahore, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch said Sunday.

The outbreak in Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also intensified.

In a press statement, Baloch said 64 cases were reported from Rawalpindi, eight from Attock, six from Khanewal, and five from Gujrat.

Similarly, four dengue patients were reported in Faisalabad, Muzaffargarh, Okara and Sahiwal each, three cases from Hafizabad and Sheikhupura and two from Chakwal.

So far this year, 6,727 confirmed cases of dengue have been reported across the province, while 4,874 confirmed cases of dengue were reported in Lahore.

Meanwhile, another patient suffering from dengue succumbed to the disease in Rawalpindi on Sunday, taking the dengue death toll to 19 so far.

A total of 1,745 patients were admitted to hospitals across Punjab, out of which 799 patients were admitted in Lahore and 946 to hospitals of other cities of the province, he added.

About availability of beds, the health secretary said that 3,644 beds were currently allocated for dengue patients in hospitals across Punjab.

On Saturday, the Specialised Healthcare Department allocated 403 more dengue beds in all teaching hospitals of Lahore and 246 more dengue beds in the rest of the teaching hospitals of Punjab, taking the tally to 1,506.

A total of 1,745 patients were under treatment on dengue allocated beds in Punjab while 799 beds are currently occupied by dengue patients in Lahore.

In the last 24 hours, 430,870 indoor locations were checked across the Punjab while 95,303 outdoor locations were checked, while larvae were destroyed from 2,250 locations.

In Lahore, 76,113 indoor places were checked for dengue larvae, 10,412 outdoor locations were checked, and 1,563 positive containers were destroyed, he added.

34 dead as dengue cases in Pakistan cross 15,000

By October 13, Pakistan had recorded 15,719 cases of dengue fever and 34 deaths, as per official data.

With Punjab emerging as the most affected province, 231 dengue patients were recorded by October 13, of which 39 were from Rawalpindi.

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