PESHAWAR: Health department has intensified campaign against Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever after upswing in cases in September due to widespread rains that have led to production of mosquitoes, the carrier and transmitter of the disease.

According to officials, 147 of the total 290 dengue cases have been recorded in September. Since the start of the current month, there has been a steep rise in dengue patients mainly due to upsurge in population of mosquitoes.

Director Public Health Dr Irshad Roghani attributed the upswing in number of dengue patients to sudden rise in mosquitoes. He said that they had escalated campaign against dengue throughout the province to prevent spread of the disease.

“So far, the province has recorded 290 cases, which include 147 in September this year so far. We are focusing on the hotspots of the disease and surveillance has further been strengthened to detect all the positive patients and isolate and manage them medically,” he told Dawn.

KP records 147 new cases of the disease in September

According to him, health adviser Ihtesham Ali and director-general health services Dr Mohammad Saleem Khan have also been visiting the hard-hit localities to supervise the drive and prevail upon people to take steps for drainage of rain water from their homes and neighbourhoods.

Dr Irshad said that Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, continued to register more cases than the rest of the districts as it had been endemic to dengue virus since 2015. Peshawar has reported 91, the highest number of cases, so far including 39 cases only in September.

Abbottabad is placed second on the list of dengue patients with 48 confirmed cases including 21 registered in the ongoing month of September, according to a report prepared by Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System (IDSRS) of health department.

The report said that of the total diagnosed patients, 197 had recovered while 93 were still active and isolated because they could infect others.

It said that in the year, 88 patients were admitted to hospitals due to dengue fever. It said that six of them were admitted to hospitals during the past 24 hours. No mortality due to dengue has been reported so far.

After Peshawar and Abbottabad, the worst affected districts are Nowshera, Hangu and Bannu with 27, 20 and 14 cases, respectively. The province has recorded dengue cases from 22 districts. Rain, a fortnight ago, has intensified the issue and production of mosquitoes has risen.

Dr Irshad said that they had identified four hotspots in as many districts where insecticidal spray was being carried out regularly to kill mosquitoes, the transmitter of the sickness. The epicentres of the disease in Peshawar were Malkander, Palosai and Nasir Bagh road; in Abbottabad Salyot and Kothiala; in Bannu Mandew; and in Mansehra Garhi Habibullah, he added.

“We are working in collaboration with all line departments to ensure elimination of stagnant water pools and screen suspected cases and isolate the confirmed ones,” he said.

The director said that they had deployed healthcare professionals throughout the province who visited neighbourhoods of the confirmed patients and screened the close contacts to stem spread of the disease. He said that awareness level of people regarding preventive steps had gone up because the disease was a recurring public health issues due to which the cases were not recorded as fast as in previous years.

“The chief secretary, being the chairman of Dengue Action Plan 2024, has been monitoring the situation throughout the province to ensure that meetings of the district committees take place regularly,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2024