_|Dengue fever in Islamabad, Pakistan|_

[Giuseppe]

Dengue fever in Islamabad, Pakistan

Published: July 16, 2008 at 3:26 PM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 16 (UPI) --

A patient with dengue virus was receiving treatment at an Islamabad, Pakistan, hospital, officials have confirmed.

The Pakistani National Institute of Health has reported the positive blood test of patient Janas Khan, who was admitted to the hospital with complaint of high fever for three previous days.

He has been shifted to observation room of the medical ward, the APP news service reported.

Dengue fever, which is transmitted by mosquito bite, usually starts suddenly with a high fever, rash, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, and muscle and joint pain, say health experts.

While usually flulike, the potential severity of the joint pain has given dengue the name break-bone fever.

In some cases, if untreated, dengue fever can be fatal.
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http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/16/Dengue_fever_in_Islamabad_Pakistan/UPI-48351216236409/
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[sharon sanders]

Re: _|Dengue fever in Islamabad, Pakistan|_

Frontier Constabulary soldier tests positive for dengue, two others cleared
* FGSH spokesman says patient under treatment at hospital
* Dengue spreads in July, August when monsoon rains create pools of stagnant water that breed dengue mosquitoes

By Jamila Achakzai

ISLAMABAD: A Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldier deployed in the capital has been diagnosed with dengue, Daily Times learnt on Wednesday.

The sources said that Jannas Khan, 28, deployed in the Margalla barracks in Islamabad, was taken to the National Institute of Health (NIH) after he complained of high fever. During examination, doctors suspected him of being affected by a mosquito-transmitted fever and referred him to the Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH), which has a dengue isolation unit.

The NIH on Wednesday reported to Polyclinic that the blood sample of Jannas, who hails from Peshawar, had tested positive for dengue.

The sources said that two FC soldiers, Zahid Khan and Israf Khan, had also shown dengue symptoms but that the NIH had later cleared them.

Jannas is the second confirmed dengue case of 2008. Earlier this month, a man died due to the mosquito-caused disease in Karachi.

In 2007, around 2,500 people, mostly from interior Sindh and Karachi, contracted dengue fever. Around 25 of them died. Shaukat Kayani, a spokesman for the FGSH, confirmed that a dengue patient had been admitted to the hospital.

Spokesman: He said that a doctor accompanied by paramedics was treating the patient. Kayani said that mosquito nets had been placed around the patient?s bed and measures had been taken to prevent the spread of the disease.

The spokesman said that dengue mostly spreads in the months of July and August, when monsoon showers create pools of stagnant water alongside roads and in underdeveloped areas. He said that stagnant water provides mosquitoes with an ideal breeding place.

Kayani said that the virus, which is transmitted by the bite of a dengue-carrying mosquito, mostly infects young children. He said that high fever, intense headaches, aching eyes, muscle and joints are the symptoms observed in dengue patients within four to 12 days of a bite.

He said that no specific antiviral medicine was available to cure dengue, adding that a dengue patient could survive only through early clinical diagnosis. He said that chances of a child surviving the virus attack were little. (?? Fla1)



http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\07\17\story_17-7-2008_pg7_4

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: _|Dengue fever in Islamabad, Pakistan|_

If Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever is diagnosed early, promptly treatment by well trained medical personnell could reduce mortality rate at less than 10 per cent, due to body fluids replacement and general supportive therapy that in this case is crucial to save patients' life.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: _|Dengue fever in Islamabad, Pakistan|_

<!--
Friday, July 18, 2008-->Doctors fear dengue fever outbreak in Islamabad
Web posted at: 7/18/2008 0:56:58
Source ::: Internews ISLAMABAD ? Doctors in Pakistan?s capital expressed fears yesterday that the city may be bracing up for an outbreak of dengue fever. The first positive case of dengue fever of the season was detected Wednesday.
A Frontier Constabulary constable was the first to contract the disease from the barracks where he had been staying. He was later admitted to Polyclinic Hospital with high fever, where he is still being treated. ?We are sure that he contracted the disease from there because he had not been out of the city for the past 30 days,? doctor treating him at the hospital said.
Afterwards three of his other colleagues staying in the same barracks also acquired the disease. Their blood samples are being tested at National Institute of Health for confirmation. None of the reported cases are hemorrhagic. The barracks have been sprayed with insecticide to prevent further transmission of disease to other personnel residing there.
Worried doctors said epidemiologically one positive case meant several others were in the pipeline.
Islamabad has been regularly getting dengue fever cases over the past few years. The cases normally started coming in September and their figures peaked by November, but this year early monsoon has brought in early cases.
?The rains have produced conditions conducive for the disease,? a doctor explained.
Dengue fever is a disease caused by a family of viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes Aedes aegypti. It is an acute illness with symptoms ranging from headache, fever, exhaustion, severe joint to muscle pain, swollen glands (lymphadenopathy), and rash.
The deadly dengue virus was not a major health issue in the country a few years back. The first confirmed outbreak of dengue fever was reported in Pakistan in 1994. Since then only sporadic cases were reported till 2006, when a major outbreak was witnessed with over 1000 confirmed cases mostly from Sindh and Punjab provinces.



http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Di...nth=July2008&file=World_News2008071805658.xml

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: _|Dengue fever in Islamabad, Pakistan|_

Another suspected case admitted to PIMS



Sunday, July 20, 2008

Shahina Maqbool

Islamabad

A new suspected case of dengue fever has been admitted at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

Faisal, a young boy aged 16, was admitted to PIMS on Friday, where he is currently under treatment in the medical ward. He reached the hospital with history of fever, severe headache and body pains. The blood samples of the patient have been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) for viral serology of dengue virus.

Meanwhile, Zulqarnain, a confirmed case of Dengue Fever, is also currently admitted at PIMS. He is a grade 10 student and a resident of Zia Masjid. He was admitted to the hospital with complaints of fever, vomiting and body aches. Hospital sources said, the boy?s condition is stable and is receiving free treatment.

There is no vaccination for Dengue Fever, nor too is there any specific treatment for the disease worldwide. Usually, the treatment is symptomatic and a patient is treated according to symptoms e.g., drugs are given for pain, fever, vomiting, bleeding, etc. Dengue is caused by flavivirus transmitted by the bite of the aedes mosquito. It may be caused by one of four serotypes widely distributed between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.

An estimated 50 to 100 million cases of Dengue Fever and several hundred thousand cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever occur each year. The incubation period is 3 to 15 days. Severe epidemics of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever serotype 3 occurred over the past 20 years in East Africa, Sri Lanka, and Latin America.

Dengue fever is usually a non-specific, self-limited biphasic febrile illness but its presentation may range from a symptomatic to Severe Hemorrhagic Fever and fatal shock (dengue shock syndrome). Severe Dengue begins with a sudden onset of high fever, chills, and break bone aching of head, back and extremities accompanied by sore throat, prostration and malaise. Conjunctival redness and flushing or blotching of the skin is a feature in over 50 percent of cases with sparing of small areas.

Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever usually affects children in endemic areas and is most likely to occur in secondary infections with stereotype 2. A few days into the illness, signs of haemorrhage such as ecchymosed, gastrointestinal bleeding and bleeding from the nose appear. Hemorrhagic fever may represent in an autoimmune reaction. Before the appearance of rash of dengue fever, the infection is difficult to distinguish from malaria, yellow fever, influenza. The rash makes dengue fever more likely.

Continuous abdominal pain with vomiting, a decrease in the level of consciousness and hypothermia should arouse concern about dengue shock syndrome.

The complications of Dengue Fever are depression, chronic fatigue, pneumonia, bone marrow failure, and a variety of neurological complications.

Dengue fever can be prevented by way of prophylactic measures including control of mosquitoes by screening and insect repellents, particularly during early morning and late afternoon exposures. The increased severity of disease in secondary infections has caused concerns in search of an effective vaccine.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=125239