Pakistan reports over 52,000 dengue cases in 2021

• Pakistan registers 52,894 cases and 224 deaths from dengue in 2021.
• Majority cases reported in Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• Toll is highest since 2019, where 95 deaths, 53,498 cases were reported.

The dengue virus continued to spread across the country in 2021, with the case tally reaching 52,894 by December 31, according to the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS).

The deadly virus took 224 lives in the previous year, Director-General Dr Rana Safdar told Geo.tv.

The cases and the death toll are the highest since 2019 — when 95 deaths and 53,498 cases were reported. 

In 2020, only 6,016 cases were registered, while no deaths were recorded.

Of the total cases recorded till December 31, 2021, the majority of the cases — 26,261 — were reported in Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where 10,617 cases were registered.

In Punjab, 163 deaths were reported while KP registered 10 deaths. In Sindh, 6,739 cases of the mosquito-borne disease were recorded, while 28 people had succumbed to the disease.

Islamabad reported as many as 5,315 dengue cases and 22 deaths, Balochistan 2,269 cases and no deaths, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 1,693 cases and one death.

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 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.