As many as 7,363 dengue fever suspects had been brought to the district’s health facilities during 2023, out of which 634 were declared positive.
District Coordinator of Epidemics Prevention and Control (DCEPC) Dr Sajjad Mehmood said that during the last 24 hours,45 more tested positive for the dangerous virus while 116 were admitted to district health facilities of which 84 were confirmed cases.
He added that district health facilities had allocated 194 beds for dealing with the dengue patients.
Dr Sajjad informed that 550 patients were discharged after treatment while presently nine patients were in critical condition.
The Rawalpindi administration had registered around 2,876 FIRs, sealed 531 premises, issued tickets to 870, and a fine of Rs 49,07,000 imposed on violations of dengue SOPs in 2023.
Dr Sajjad said that anti-dengue teams during indoor surveillance from January 1 to date checked 4,887,178 houses and found dengue larvae at 33,713 homes. Similarly, during outdoor surveillance the teams inspected 1,890,858 spots and detected larvae at 6,105 places, he added.
The health officer said that disease prevention was the government’s priority, and the district health administration worked day and night to avoid the possible outbreak.
He added that the last two days’ rains had increased the threat of mosquito breeding which needed to be tackled immediately.
Dr Sajjad said that puddles of water, which get stagnant due to rain, become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and spread diseases like malaria and dengue fever. He also urged the residents to adopt precautionary measures as September was crucial for dengue spread.
Moreover,Experts Sunday underlined the need to create awareness among the people about the adoption of precautionary measures against dengue and to keep the surrounding areas clean from dengue larvae as twin cities’ authorities have made efforts to identify dengue hotspots.
Talking to the PTV news channel an Infectious Diseases expert in Polyclinic Dr Amna Bibi said that the spread of vector-borne dengue has become a serious public health problem in both cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, adding, that dengue has become a seasonal illness and every year majority of people are affected by it.
She said it can be prevented by keeping the house and surroundings dry and clean, adding, that we should take steps to remove stagnant water and handle wet garbage carefully.
In the evening, doors and windows must be closed,” she added.
She also asked the CDA and health services directorate that with all department’s collaboration they should step up against the dengue virus and play an active role in the elimination of this deadly virus from the city.
Teams of the Health Services Directorate must have conducted the fumigation and spray in different sectors of the city including katchi abadis, nullahs, streams, particularly the potential dengue virus breeding areas, she added.
Replying to a question, the Dengue expert explained the symptoms include sudden high temperature, severe headache, pain in the eyes, muscle and joint pains, rashes, nausea, and dryness in the mouth. But in severe cases, it can also lead to liver enlargement, internal bleeding, circulatory shutdown, and even death.
“Majority of patients are undergoing treatment in various hospitals of cities, adding, health authorities are maintaining a strict watch and all sorts of assistance are being offered to the patients”, she added.
She also cautioned against the use of medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), adding, instead, he recommended using paracetamol for fever and pain relief.
To another question, she said people with such diseases as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, or other chronic conditions are always at a higher risk of developing severe dengue.
