Dengue fever cases have continued to rise in Pakistan, an outbreak mainly attributed to the floods caused by heavy monsoon rains in the region.
The country’s provincial health department said Monday that 419 new cases were reported across southern Sindh in the past 24 hours.
According to the department, the current worst-hit area is Karachi, the provincial capital, which reported 343 new infections.
The figure for September has consequently risen to 5,382 in view of the newly reported cases, amounting to a total of 7,951 cases so far this year.
The eastern Punjab province reported 385 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to provincial health officials early Sunday morning.
Lahore, the capital of Punjab, recorded 186 new cases, followed by Rawalpindi, which reported 100. The overall number of dengue cases in Punjab this year has risen to 4,921.
The provincial health department stated early Sunday night that 213 more patients had been diagnosed with the disease in the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the last 24 hours.
The province currently has 1,189 active cases, and the overall number of cases this year has reached 6,625.
The national capital, Islamabad, reported 68 new dengue cases in the previous 24 hours, according to health officials early Sunday night. This year’s total for the city has grown to 1,991.
In response to the worrying number of cases in the country, the Pakistani government has initiated an anti-dengue campaign to raise public awareness.
The government has also taken particular precautions in dengue hotspots to combat the mosquito-borne disease.
Dengue mosquitoes breed in containers filled with stagnant water. Dengue can cause joint discomfort, nausea, vomiting, rashes, respiratory issues, haemorrhaging, and organ failure in extreme cases.
