ISLAMABAD: Dengue epidemic has tightened its grip on Pakistan as 1212 new cases of dengue virus have been emerged in the past 24 hours, while, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH) rejected reports of novel dengue strain in the country.
As per details, 388 new dengue cases were reported in Sindh in the past 24 hours, with 324 of those cases coming from Karachi alone, where two people died as a result of dengue fever’s complications. They added that they have begun converting the Covid-19 high dependency units at major hospitals into dengue treatment centers.
According to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials, 307 new cases were reported in the past day, including 153 from Peshawar and 73 from Mardan. They also stated that 5 individuals had died from dengue fever in KPK province so far.
Moreover, only 188 dengue cases were reported in Punjab during the past 24 hours, including 80 from Rawalpindi, 62 from Lahore and remaining from other cities, indicating the disease surveillance system was allegedly not functioning properly in the province, where hundreds of people were daily approaching healthcare facilities for the treatment of dengue fever.
Around 179 cases of dengue fever were reported from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), while over 150 cases of dengue fever have been reported from different districts of Balochistan, the officials said.
“No new variant of dengue virus has been discovered, it is just a hoax,” a representative of the NIH Islamabad was quoted as saying in The News.
Leading experts in infectious diseases, however, asserted the existence of four serotypes of the vector-borne illness and said that “a mix of dengue serotypes” may be plaguing Pakistan’s population.
