Deadly dengue fever outbreak in northern Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - More than 350 people in the northern city of Peshawar have been diagnosed with dengue hemorrhagic fever, a local doctor said Thursday.

The Khyber Teaching Hospital have tested 359 patients positive for the fever, a deadly mosquito-borne disease, hospital spokesman Dr. Farhad Khan told Anadolu Agency.

Three patients have died since the outbreak emerged in the Tehkal district to the west of the city at the end of last month. Nearly 2,200 people have been screened for the disease.

Tehkal has a high number of businesses involved in producing and selling auto tires, which easily collect water and provide mosquito breeding grounds.

“So far, three patients have been died and 63 are still admitted in our hospital,” Farhad said.

Last year, more than 12,000 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases were reported in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulting in 10 deaths, provincial health officials said.

Local officials have declared an emergency in the city’s hospitals.

According to the World Health Organization, the incidence of dengue fever has grown dramatically in recent decades, with 2.2 million cases reported in 2010 and 3.2 million five years later.