Daily Times

The dengue fever cases were continuously increasing, and Rawalpindi has listed 74 more dengue cases during the last 24 hours, the highest single-day rise this year.

District Coordinator Epidemics Prevention and Control(DCEPC), Dr Sajjad Mehmood, Thursday said that the number of dengue fever patients at district health facilities was continuously increasing while the district government, along with district health authority and others had made arrangements to control the situation.

During the last 24 hours, he said that 74 patients had been confirmed with the fatal disease, out of which 57 belonged to Rawalpindi and the remaining from other districts. He added that 132 patients were admitted to three hospitals in the city, including 52 to the Holy Family Hospital and 40 each to the District Headquarters and Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Headquarter Marzia Saleem, while presiding over a meeting to review dengue arrangements, directed the officials concerned to register FIRs against commercial building owners if dengue larvae were found on their premises.

She said that the prevailing weather was most suitable for breeding dengue larvae; there was a need to remain vigilant to prevent the spread of larvae. Marzia directed the health officials to expedite anti-dengue surveillance activities for tracing larvae and their eradication. She asked the officials concerned to conduct field visits regularly to check the performance of the anti-dengue teams, adding that no negligence would be tolerated in this regard.