ISLAMABAD, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The rise in dengue fever cases continued in Pakistan amid an outbreak due to floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in the South Asian country.
In the last 24 hours, 385 more people were diagnosed with the disease in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the provincial health department reported on Tuesday night. The number of active cases in the province currently stands at 2,314 and the total number of cases this year has reached 9,921.
The southern Sindh province reported 336 new infections, said the provincial health department on Tuesday evening. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital, which reported 264 new cases.
The total number of cases this year in the province has reached 11,142.
The eastern Punjab province reported 193 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said on Tuesday. Punjab's Rawalpindi city reported 74 new cases, followed by its capital Lahore with 68 cases. The total number of dengue cases in Punjab this year has gone up to 7,428.
The national capital Islamabad reported 93 new dengue cases in the last 24 hours, the health authorities said on Tuesday night. The city's total tally has risen to 2,679 this year.
The Pakistani government has launched an anti-dengue campaign including raising public awareness in response to the alarmingly high number of cases in the country and has taken special measures at the dengue hotspots to curb the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. ■
