LAHORE: A surge in the number of dengue fever cases has been reported in Punjab over the past 24 hours amid fears that the nation might face an outbreak of the disease in the coming days, health authorities said.
A total of 223 new cases of dengue fever — which is spread by mosquitoes that can only survive in warm temperatures — were reported across Punjab on Wednesday, said the provincial health department, adding that most of the cases were recorded in Lahore.
Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department secretary, Imran Sikandar Baloch, said of the total, 167 infections were reported from Lahore, 35 from Rawalpindi, four in Kasur, and three cases were reported from Narowal.
The total tally of dengue fever cases this year has surged to 1,659 in the province, said the health department.
Baloch urged the people to keep themselves safe from the disease and ensure complete drainage of rainwater from their surroundings.
Delay in fumigation by the administration resulted in an upsurge in dengue cases this monsoon season, reports citing sources said.
Keeping in view of the alarming spike in dengue fever cases, the provincial health department in collaboration with the district administrations has begun fumigation and an awareness campaign in the province.
According to government officials, despite various challenges posed by Covid-19, the government has been making all-out efforts and taking adequate measures to stem the further spread of the dengue virus.
Only nine countries faced severe dengue outbreaks in 1970. But the disease is now seen in more than 100 countries. There are thought to be 390 million infections each year.
In 2011, a major outbreak of dengue fever — potentially lethal disease spread by mosquito bites — infected 20,000 and killed more than 300 people.
Subsequently, in 2019, rising temperatures across Asia and the Americas contributed to multiple severe outbreaks of dengue fever globally, making it the worst year on record for the disease.
Other Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, also had outbreaks, with a particularly severe situation in the Philippines, where 1,000 people died of the disease, including hundreds of children, in 2019.
