Introduction:

Dengue fever also known as break-bone fever is a serious and sometimes fatal infection. Dengue is spread by several species of female mosquitoes. The disease may be characterized by mild symptoms to life-threatening conditions. The symptoms may range from moderate headache, nausea, vomiting, muscular pain, and high-grade fever to severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, bleeding gums, low pulse, and narrow pulse pressure. Neurological symptoms may include confusion, unconsciousness, and shock. Early detection and timely initiation of appropriate treatment can reduce mortality to <1% compared with 2–5% if left untreated. Recovery generally takes two to seven days.

Currently, dengue cases are on the rise as per the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government report and during the month of September 2021, around 1626 dengue cases were registered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Preventive measure: 

Since there is no proper treatment for dengue, the best option is to adopt precautionary measures such as control of mosquitoes which normally flourishes in dirty areas and stagnant water ponds. The Local Government Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has already started awareness campaigns through Tehsil Municipal Administration by installing banners, distributing pamphlets, and fumigation of houses, shops, and buildings. Most of the public places are cleared by using detergent and inspection of Bazar to observe anti-dengue SOPs. So far 16490 awareness campaigns are held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including the Merged Areas. 5700 banners are installed. 13389 staff are properly trained and deployed to ensure effective control of dengue in the province.

The Local Government Department is regularly monitoring the dengue situations in close coordination with respective district administration and health departments. Recently, the dengue pandemic has been noted in various parts of the world. It is estimated that about 2.5 billion people are at risk of contracting the disease every year Asia alone contributes to 70% of the global burden of dengue In the Americas, about 2.38 million dengue cases caused a death toll of 1032 in 2016 with most cases from Brazil. Smaller outbreaks were reported in Northern America (Florida) in 2009 and 2010 as well as in Europe (France) in 2013–Dengue fever outbreaks routinely and progressively happen each year in South and Pacific Asian countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Malaysia. India and Myanmar have also been severely affected by dengue outbreaks in recent years with 21,000 cases in 2015 and 89,832 cases in 2011–2015, respectively

In Pakistan, dengue hemorrhagic fever was recognized as a major public health problem in 2006 when the first major outbreak caused 4800 positive cases and 50 death tolls. This was followed by a 2008 outbreak that hit the entire country A massive outbreak in 2011 in Punjab province affected more than 21,597 individuals and claimed 365 precious lives Since then, every year thousands of positive cases and hundreds of deaths have been reported.