LAHORE- Another seven dengue cases have been confirmed in Lahore, increasing the toll of affected patients to 53 in Punjab this year.
The patients are under treatment at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital. The illness is spreading across the Punjab because of poor hygiene conditions, and heavy monsoon rain provides ideal conditions for dengue-carrying mosquitoes (aedes aegypti) to thrive in stagnant waters. According to Health Department, next two months are ideal for dengue-carrying mosquitoes to spread. Authorities say the provincial government is trying its best to tackle the disease; however, people should also follow instructions to contain it.
The disease is a threat to nearly half of the world s population. Of the estimated 220 million people infected each year, two million -- mostly children in Latin America and Asia -- develop a severe form called dengue hemorrhagic fever.