Abdul Rasheed Azad

ISLAMABAD: Dengue cases have been continuously witnessing an upward trend as on Tuesday, the health authorities reported a total 732 new cases in the country.

According to official data, the Punjab government has reported 445 fresh dengue virus cases, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Health department reported 193 new cases of mosquito-borne fever, and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) reported 94 more dengue cases.

According to a dengue situation report released by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Health department, out of 445 dengue cases reported in the province, 345 cases were reported in Lahore, 33 in Rawalpindi, 16 in Gujranwala, eight each in Sheikhupura and Faisalabad.

Punjab has so far reported 48 dengue virus deaths during the ongoing year, of which three died in the past 24 hours.

According to a report issued by the KPK Directorate General Health Services, in past 24 hours, the KPK has reported a total 193 dengue cases, taking the provincial dengue virus cases tally to 6,803, while the death toll due to dengue fever in the province stands at eight. The number of active cases stood at 1,462.

According to District Health Officer (DHO), Islamabad, out of a total 94 dengue cases reported in the federal capital territory, 56 were detected in rural areas, while 38 in the urban areas.

Another dengue patient over the past 24 hours has died in Islamabad, taking this year’s tally to 14.

The federal capital, so far has detected 3,737 dengue cases, of which 2,140 cases in the rural areas, and 1,597 in urban areas.

The Punjab government has inspected 391,313 indoor locations, and 87,096 outdoor locations, for the detection of dengue larvae.

Furthermore, the health department also urged the people to cooperate with the government by engaging in responsible waste disposal and taking precautions such as wearing repellent, abstaining from leaving standing water around their house, and getting their homes fumigated.

Our surveillance system in this regard was particularly proactive in recent years as those failing to observe protocols were fined, promoting a system of enforcement that was rather effective.

Now, there is much to be desired as it seems that all that effort has been thrown out the window.

As it is, our healthcare system has been burdened by the pandemic.

To allow another disease to impact us so severely would be draining financially, emotionally, health, and morale wise as well.

All efforts must be directed towards mitigating the damage done, controlling the situation, beginning anti-dengue drives, and encouraging awareness among the population.

This article first appeared in Business Recorder