PESHAWAR - The dengue fever on Wednesday took another life in the city, raising the death toll to 56 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Tayyab, 22, resident of Maskeen Abad, had been admitted to Khyber Teaching Hospital on October 12 after being bitten by the dengue mosquito.

On Wednesday, the Dengue Response Unit said in its report that a total of 1,884 people were tested for dengue virus at different hospitals. Of them, 460 were tested positive for the virus. However, only 150 were admitted to hospitals, the unit said.

It further said that as many as 182 dengue patients were discharged after giving them initial treatment. At present, over 400 dengue patients are being treated at different hospitals, it said.

The first dengue case had surfaced in the provincial metropolis on July 20 in Tehkal, where from the fatal virus spread in the neighbourhoods. Presently, most of the dengue mosquitoes biting cases are being reported from Palosai, Tehkal Bala, Tehkal Payan, Sufaid Dheri, Pavakai, Nothia, Arbab Landai and other adjacent localities.

Residents of these areas are terrified by the outbreak of the dengue fever and have stressed the provincial government to take concrete steps to control the epidemic and also improve facilities at hospitals, particularly for dengue patients.

To cope with the epidemic, the KP government on Wednesday launched a special campaign in Peshawar with cooperation of World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

The Dengue Response Unit said that as many as 491 teams were constituted to carry out fumigation in the week-long campaign, which formally began from Wednesday October 18. The anti-dengue teams will carry out fumigation inside and outside houses in 14 affected union councils.

The unit said that at least 13,000 people have so far been affected by dengue virus since surfacing of the disease in the city.