The three associated hospitals in town have received as many as 437 stated patients of dengue fever in the last four days that has taken the total number of confirmed patients so far registered with the three teaching hospitals this year to 1,920. The reaffirmed patients of dengue fever here at the three teaching hospitals including Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital has exceeded the figure of 100 per day while in last 24 hours, the associated hospitals tested as many as 119 patients positive for the virus. It is significant that the virus has previously stated two lives at the allied hospitals resulting great alarm among patients. Data collected has depicted that the allied hospitals tested 119 patients positive in past 24 hours while result in 150 cases is being awaited. On Friday, as many as 459 patients including confirmed and probable ones were undergoing treatment at the allied hospitals while four days back, the number was 370.
It is important that the HFH has tested a total of 967 patients positive for dengue fever while it had to admit well over 1,500 patients in last three to four weeks. The BBH received 528 confirmed patients of dengue fever while admitted over 950 patients for treatment at its dengue fever ward. The DHQ Hospital that tested a total of about 425 patients positive for dengue fever had to admit over 550 patients at its dengue fever ward. It is worth mentioning here that the allied hospitals have so far received well over 13,250 patients at their dengue fever counters and the daily inflow of doubtful patients is also on a phenomenal increase. In last 24 hours, as many as 892 patients reported at dengue fever outpatient departments of the three hospitals. As reported by many health experts, the situation is becoming more and more disheartening a total of 285 confirmed patients of dengue fever were experiencing treatment at the associated hospitals.
Subsequent torrential rainfall in many parts of the country, there have been reports of a dengue epidemic in some parts due to the existence of static water bodies and the lack of sanitation in low-lying areas. The cities of Karachi, Peshawar and Rawalpindi have been specifically this time around, as hospitals fight to the quick in rush of patients. Last week, a man in Karachi who was already suffering from hepatitis B suffered to the illness, becoming the eighth dengue-related death in the city since the start of the year. According to officials, there have been almost 1,700 cases of the disease in Sindh, with the large majority recorded in Karachi. In Peshawar, over 1,200 cases had been less than a month, mostly in the rural parts, which had also been some of the worst-affected areas during the 2017 dengue outbreak in the provincial capital. In this week, at least 25 new cases were reported at the Khyber Teaching Hospital. The different hospitals of Rawalpindi have seen around 1,000 dengue patients since January, though many were reportedly released soon after receiving treatment. Past year, the health department found the dengue larvae inside 940 houses in the city after the district administration had reportedly did not succeed to conduct the necessary clouding operations. Other parts of Punjab, including Lahore, have also seen a quick rise in dengue cases and figures throughout the country are anticipated during forthcoming coming weeks.
The sign of the mosquito-borne disease can differ from mild to severe, and include greater fever, headaches, vomiting, nausea, muscle and joint pain, an expected drop in blood pressure, and heavy loss of blood. Hospitals and blood banks strive to provide sufficient amounts of platelets to patients. Along with carrying out regular fumigation and guaranteeing cleanliness, the government must urge drives that advance blood donation and platelet transfusion in such times. In a report heading “Threat of outbreak of dengue epidemic in Rawalpindi district”, the agency stated that it had generated 48 Dengue Virus Reports and 5,337 suspected hotspots in Rawalpindi that could cause spread of the disease. The Special Branch had also sent a set of proposals giving a way forward to curtail the disease besides proposing action against those held responsible for the outbreak in Rawalpindi. The dengue outbreak could have been avoided by executing its past warning reports. The agency has sent its fresh report to the Punjab government for rapid action on the faults with a set of proposal to carry out on an advancement foundation to halt spread of the disease to other parts of the province.
In addition sending reports, the Rawalpindi field officers of the agency also issued five different special reports signifying menace of spread of dengue in the district but no action at the root was taken on these reports. It has warned that owing to delay in controlling disease in Rawalpindi, six more districts of the province are facing dengue outbreak menace. These districts are Lahore, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Faisalabad and Multan. Whereas declaring these districts strongly delicate for dengue spread, the agency has proposed prompt measures to halt the disease. There is a severe need to take preventive measures and actions on an emergency basis to prevent these districts from being declared highly sensitive and expose to dengue epidemic,” reads the report. About the causes of the dengue spread, it stated during survey of the agency’s field staff has identified 10 localities in Rawalpindi which are exposed.