Authorities spring into action after Pakistan’s Islamabad reports 14 dengue cases

Patients suffering from dengue fever rest on beds under nets as they are treated at a government hospital in Karachi on October 10, 2019. (AFP/File)

• Mosquito larvae have been detected in 430 urban centers and 174 rural areas
• On June 3, Pakistan reported its first dengue-related death of this year in Sindh

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad has reported 14 cases of dengue fever, while authorities have found dengue mosquito larvae at 604 locations across the city, Pakistani state media reported on Monday, amid efforts to contain further spread of the virus.
Dengue is an illness that spreads through vectors, carried by the bite of an infected mosquito. There is currently no cure or vaccine for dengue fever and in its most severe form, it can lead to fatalities.
People affected by dengue go through intense flu-like symptoms including high fever, intense headache, muscle and joint pain, and nausea and vomiting, typically persisting for approximately a week.
In June, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had ordered strict implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to combat the virus after Islamabad reported nine cases ahead of the monsoon season.
“The Islamabad Capital Territory administration is ramping up efforts to control the spread of dengue after 14 cases were reported,” the state-run APP news agency reported on Monday.
Out of the 604 locations in Islamabad, dengue mosquito larvae were detected in 174 rural areas and 430 urban centers, according to the report.
Action was also taken against business centers and under-construction sites where the larvae were found, leading to arrest of several individuals for not complying with the dengue SOPs.
Dengue fever is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks. This year’s first dengue-related death was reported in the country’s southern Sindh province on June 3.
An advisory published by Pakistan’s National Institute of Health in 2023 said a total of 52,929 cases and 224 deaths from dengue were reported in the country in 2021, while there were approximately 79,007 confirmed cases of dengue with 149 deaths in 2022, with the surge in cases following unprecedented flooding that began in mid-June 2022. In 2023, Pakistan reported 3,019 suspected cases and 8 deaths from dengue.
The virus has been surging worldwide, aided by climate change. In barely six months, countries in the Americas have already broken calendar-year records for dengue cases. Last December, the World Health Organization declared an emergency in December, and Puerto Rico declared a public health emergency in March.