Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/1070013-another-dengue-surge
Another dengue surge
Muhammad Daud Khan
Shehr
May 14, 2023
Closely linked to the recent dengue fever surge is an erratic shift in weather patterns
w
hile weather patterns are changing all over the country, nowhere are the adverse impacts of this shift in rainfall patterns and temperatures more pronounced than in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The province is more climate-sensitive than other regions because of its altitude and topography.
Last month, Peshawar was one of the cities that received excess rainfall. The heavy downpour raised the probability of an early dengue fever outbreak.
Urban centers in KP such as Peshawar are already susceptible to mosquito-borne disease.
Rainfall drives dengue transmission by adding to the number of stagnant water pools in an area. The pools are then used by mosquitos as their breeding grounds. As the mosquito population grows, the risk of a dengue fever outbreak also increases.
Unplanned urbanization results in stretches of densely populated areas. A mesh of social and environmental factors contributes to dengue fever transmission in these pockets, present in all large cities of the country, including Peshawar.
This will not be the province's first dengue fever outbreak. According to various reports, around 23,000 cases of dengue fever were recorded in KP last year. Peshawar was one of the epicenters of the epidemic.
According to Health Department officials, 18 dengue fever patients have been reported in the province this year. Out of those three have been from Peshawar and 10 from Mardan.
Bajaur has reported three cases and Kohat and Lower Chitral one case each. The officials say that three of the patients had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia...
Another dengue surge
Muhammad Daud Khan
Shehr
May 14, 2023
Closely linked to the recent dengue fever surge is an erratic shift in weather patterns
w
hile weather patterns are changing all over the country, nowhere are the adverse impacts of this shift in rainfall patterns and temperatures more pronounced than in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The province is more climate-sensitive than other regions because of its altitude and topography.
Last month, Peshawar was one of the cities that received excess rainfall. The heavy downpour raised the probability of an early dengue fever outbreak.
Urban centers in KP such as Peshawar are already susceptible to mosquito-borne disease.
Rainfall drives dengue transmission by adding to the number of stagnant water pools in an area. The pools are then used by mosquitos as their breeding grounds. As the mosquito population grows, the risk of a dengue fever outbreak also increases.
Unplanned urbanization results in stretches of densely populated areas. A mesh of social and environmental factors contributes to dengue fever transmission in these pockets, present in all large cities of the country, including Peshawar.
This will not be the province's first dengue fever outbreak. According to various reports, around 23,000 cases of dengue fever were recorded in KP last year. Peshawar was one of the epicenters of the epidemic.
According to Health Department officials, 18 dengue fever patients have been reported in the province this year. Out of those three have been from Peshawar and 10 from Mardan.
Bajaur has reported three cases and Kohat and Lower Chitral one case each. The officials say that three of the patients had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia...