Pakistan continues to see growth in dengue cases

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan continues to see an increase in dengue cases amid the recent outbreak due to the ongoing floods in the South Asian country.

A total of 386 new cases of dengue fever were reported across the southern Sindh province in the last 24 hours, said the provincial health department on Sunday evening. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital and the largest city of the country, which reported 349 new cases.

The number of dengue infections in the month of September in Sindh has risen to 3,020, bringing the local total to 5,589 this year.

Moreover, in the last 24 hours, 166 more people were diagnosed with the disease in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the provincial health department reported on Sunday evening. The total number of active cases in the province stands currently at 1,356.

Additionally, the eastern Punjab province reported 191 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said on Sunday morning. Punjab's Rawalpindi city reported 84 new cases, followed by its capital Lahore with 60 cases. The total number of cases in Punjab this year has now gone up to 3,288.

Furthermore, the country's capital Islamabad reported 57 new cases in the last 24 hours, health authorities said on Sunday evening. The total number of cases in the city has increased to 1,388 this year.

The Pakistani government has launched an anti-dengue campaign including raising public awareness in response to the alarmingly high level of cases in the country, and has taken special measures at the dengue hotspots in order to curb the spread of the disease.