PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has reported 237 more cases of dengue virus in the preceding 24 hours, bringing the total number of dengue infected people in the province to 8,630.
The report said that a total of 108 dengue patients are currently under treatment in different hospitals. In 24 hours, the highest number of 171 dengue virus cases was confirmed in Peshawar, after which the number of dengue infected people in the city has increased to 4,198. The report said that so far nine deaths have been reported from dengue in the province.
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To contain the dengue virus, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a special project to improve hygiene, sanitation and drinking water supply system in the 12 most affected areas (hotspots) of Peshawar. The hotspots were identified as Bazid Khel, Mashokhel, Tehkal, Phandu and Safid Dheri, Achihni, Pishtakhera, Kotla Mohsin Khan, Sarband and others.
The Chief Minister Mahmood Khan also directed the district administrations to monitor the anti-dengue activities and submit regular report to provincial Secretariat. He said that the first objective of his government is to protect the people from dengue virus. “The provincial government will provide all the necessary resources for this purpose on priority basis but all the initiatives will have to implement according to the anti-dengue plan,” the chief minister said.
The Program Manager Malaria and dengue Control Dr Rehman Afridi told Mashriq Tv that the virus exit in Pakistan for the last 10 years and there has been a major outbreak in 2017 in Peshawar when hundreds of cases were reported and dozens of people lost their lives, especially in Peshawar.
Dr Afridi said that a compered to the past, but now the number of cases has declined. He said that the government is making every possible effort to eliminate the disease, however, the plan made by the health department would take at least three years to completely eradicate the virus from the province. Afridi informed that the dengue mosquito finds conducive environment during August to November. He hoped that after November, the dengue mosquito will lose its ability to survive.