RAWALPINDI: Since the start of the dengue season along with the onset of the monsoon rains a few months ago, the Rawalpindi district has reported its highest tally of dengue patients as 55 individuals tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease on Thursday.

Out of these patients, 26 dengue patients were admitted to Holy Family Hospital in Satellite Town, 25 arrived at Benazir Bhutto Hospital on Murree Road, and four patients were admitted to the Rawalpindi District Headquarters Hospital in Raja Bazaar.

Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) head of the infectious diseases department, Dr Mujeeb Khan said 315 patients on Thursday arrived in the outdoor patients department (OPD) and 55 out of them tested positive for dengue. According to Dr Mujeeb, people with high fever mostly tested positive for dengue upon their arrival.

Benazir Bhutto Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Tahir Rizvi told Dawn that the number of patients in dengue wards was on the rise. He said that more than 35 per cent of patients at BBH belonged to Islamabad while above 40pc of the patients in Holy Family Hospital also belonged to the capital territories. He said since the first week of September, the number of dengue patients in the garrison city was on the rise.

According to the data collected from three government-run hospitals including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital, currently 171 patients are admitted to three hospitals in Rawalpindi after 52 patients were discharged after treatment on Thursday. This year, 6,592 patients arrived in the OPD of the three hospitals. 1143 people were admitted and out of them, 594 had turned out to be dengue patients.

So far, the city has reported four deaths due to dengue. Two deaths were reported at Holy Family Hospital, one each at Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Fauji Foundation Hospital in Rawalpindi.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Asif Arbab Niazi said September was the peak month for dengue. At a press conference in his office, he said 493 people were diagnosed with dengue during the ongoing season and four deaths occurred due to dengue during one month.

“Most dengue patients arrived from Chak Jalaldin, Gulistan Colony, Ch Bostan Khan Road from Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench to Chaklala Scheme-III, Rahimabad, and Chaklala Cantonment Board,” he said.

Dr Niazi said emergency measures were being taken to contain dengue in Rawalpindi. “As many as 70 cases were reported from Chak Jalaldin. The staff of RWMC are engaged in cleaning works while the patients are being treated on a daily basis,” he said.

He said staff had been trained by the healthcare commission to combat dengue and spraying and fogging was also underway. Dengue teams are checking larvae from house to house, he claimed, adding the Punjab dengue report was also being uploaded on a daily basis. Similarly, special wards for dengue have been set up in allied hospitals of Rawalpindi, he added.

He said spraying and fogging were underway in the areas where dengue cases had been reported, adding that the Punjab government was diligently monitoring the dengue situation.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024