Dengue Outbreak in Punjab, Pakistan
Rawalpindi Declares Emergency
In the last 24 hours, Pakistan’s Punjab Health Department reported 149 new dengue cases, with Rawalpindi being the most affected, recording 134 cases. Other areas like Bahawalpur and Lahore reported three and two cases, respectively. Several other districts reported one case each. Over the past week, Punjab saw 997 new cases, totaling 3,285 cases for 2024. The health department assures that necessary measures and medicine stocks are in place. On October 9, Rawalpindi declared a district-wide emergency, setting up emergency dengue counters. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised concerns about the global rise in dengue cases, with over 12.3 million cases and 7,900 deaths reported in the first eight months of 2024. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for a coordinated global response to this health crisis. Dengue symptoms range from high fever to severe body aches, with many cases being asymptomatic, complicating disease management. WHO estimates between 100 million and 400 million infections annually.
Doubts Revealed
Dengue -: Dengue is a disease caused by a virus spread by mosquitoes. It can make people very sick with symptoms like high fever, severe headache, and joint pain.
Punjab, Pakistan -: Punjab is a region in Pakistan, which is a country neighboring India. It is one of the provinces in Pakistan, similar to how states are in India.
Rawalpindi -: Rawalpindi is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is known for being close to the capital city, Islamabad.
Emergency -: Declaring an emergency means that the situation is very serious and needs immediate attention. It allows the government to take special actions to help control the problem.
WHO -: WHO stands for the World Health Organization. It is a global organization that works to improve health and respond to health emergencies around the world.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus -: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the Director-General of the World Health Organization. He is responsible for leading the organization’s efforts to improve global health.
Global response -: A global response means that countries around the world work together to solve a problem. In this case, it refers to countries working together to fight the spread of dengue.
