'At least 50 suspected dengue patients in KP, three dead'

PESHAWAR: After wreaking havoc in Punjab, dengue virus has also gripped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as 50 suspected cases have been reported from various districts of the province.

Sources in the Health Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told APP here on Thursday that three confirmed deaths have been caused by the dengue fever in the province so far whereas 50 suspected people have been admitted in various district headquarters hospitals and teaching hospitals of the province.

Giving breakup details of the suspected and confirmed cases, the Health Department KP informed that six suspected patients were reported in Abbotabad out of which one was confirmed case.

Similarly, one confirm case has been reported from Nowshera and one death has occurred there while 30 suspected cases have been reported from Haripur out of which two were confirmed.

Two confirmed cases of dengue fever have been reported from Manshera and one from Battagram out of which one person has died while six confirm patients of dengue fever has been admitted in Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar and one in Hayatabad Medical Complex.

The sources informed that isolation wards have been set up at all teaching and districts headquarters hospitals of the province to cater to the dengue affected patients.

The main treatment for dengue fever is to encourage the intake of food and especially fluids. This may be supplemented with intravenous fluids if necessary.

There is no clinically proven vaccine available for the prevention of dengue fever and therefore people in high risk areas are advised to protect themselves against infection by avoiding mosquito bites. Mosquitoes carrying dengue fever typically bite during the day, especially at dawn and dusk.

The health experts advised people to avoid getting bitten by wearing clothing, which protects the skin and by using insect repellent on exposed skin. It is also recommended to remove all potential breeding sites for mosquitoes such as still water found in containers and pots.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011