Dengue on the rise in Punjab: 828 cases reported this year

Health officials in Punjab, who are already dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, have to now also combat a dengue outbreak, as in the last 24 hours 92 cases of the mosquito-borne disease were reported in the province.

Imran Sikander, secretary of the primary and secondary healthcare department in the province, has advised people to take special care to maintain cleanliness in their homes, especially during the ongoing monsoon season as the dengue mosquito breeds in water.

In the last 24 hours, 92 cases of the mosquito-borne viral infection have been reported in Punjab, of which 64 were confirmed in Lahore alone.

While to date, this year, 828 cases of dengue fever have been confirmed in the province, of which 687 were recorded in Lahore.

However, no deaths have been reported this year, till now, from dengue.

Furthermore, as per the primary and secondary healthcare department, 58 patients of the disease are hospitalised in the province, mostly in Lahore and Rawalpindi.

In order to combat the viral infection, health teams are moving door-to-door to look for the dengue larvae in residential and commercial areas. In the last 24 hours, 322,036 indoors places and 68,839 outdoors places have been inspected.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection, found in tropical climates and is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes.

As per the World Health Organization, the global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades and about half of the world's population is now at risk.

Once infected, dengue leads to high fever, muscle and joint pains, nausea and vomiting.