In K-P, dengue fever makes a reappearance.

 

In K-P, dengue fever makes a reappearance.

PESHAWAR:

Despite months of planning and several meetings by provincial authorities to discuss preventive measures, dengue fever has returned to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

According to an official speaking to The Express Tribune, 45 instances have been reported from the province, with DI Khan leading the way with 31 cases.

"There have been over seven instances recorded from Peshawar, two from North Waziristan, two from Mardan, one each from Chitral Lower, Manshera, and Nowshera," he said, noting that DI Khan is the district with the highest risk.

Sprays should be carried out throughout the monsoon season, according to standard operating procedures (SOPs), to efficiently deal with mosquito breeding, although these SOPs are rarely followed.

The old Frontier Region Darazinda (FR Darazinda), which is now part of Dera after the merger, is the hardest hit inside DI Khan district.

There have been 27 instances documented in one village, Bara Kohi.

According to authorities, the town lacks access to safe drinking water, forcing residents to rely on water from pools.

Teams from the health department had previously been dispatched to the region, but due to a lack of resources, their efforts were useless.

According to the official, all districts have been asked to take action under the Dengue Action Plan.

"Dengue larva has been found in water samples collected from various locations in Peshawar, Nowshera, and Manshera, and district health officers (DHOs) have been directed to keep an effective surveillance," he said, adding that around four million houses have been inspected so far across the province.

Last year, millions of individuals in K-P were infected with dengue fever, despite the fact that the authorities only reported 10,000 cases in the province.

Acute diarrhoea outbreak

In the same week as the dengue cases, roughly 18,301 cases of acute diarrhoea were recorded from across K-P.

With 3,676 instances, Swat district has taken the lead. Similarly, 2,751 instances of blood dysentery have been documented in Peshawar.

There have been 2,067 cases reported from Haripur and 1,983 cases from Malakand.

Aabbotabad, Charsadda, Haripur, Khyber, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Malakand, Manshera, Mardan, Swat, Swabi, and Peshawar have all recorded acute diarrhoea cases, according to the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Response System of the K-P Health Department.

After the outbreak was reported, the health authorities dispatched teams to Malakand.

"Four samples were gathered from the local community and households and sent to the Public Health Refence Lab in Islamabad, where three were found positive, hence a formal reaction has been launched in the region," an official said, adding that DHO Malakand has been put on high alert.