2 more deaths reported in Pakistan as dengue fever cases keep rising

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan continues to witness a rise of dengue fever cases as two more deaths were reported from the disease in the South Asian country.

The northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the southern Sindh province both reported one death, the provincial health departments said on Monday.

In KP, 455 more people were diagnosed with the disease, the provincial health department said on Monday evening. The number of active cases in the province currently stands at 2,473 and the total number of cases this year has reached 12,068.

In the last 24 hours, Sindh reported 352 new infections. The worst-hit area was Karachi, the provincial capital, which reported 235 new cases.

With the newly-reported dengue cases, the October figure to date for the province has risen to 3,145, bringing the total local tally to 13,299 this year.

The eastern Punjab province reported 280 new cases in the last 24 hours, the provincial health authorities said on Monday. Punjab's capital Lahore reported 102 new cases, followed by Rawalpindi city with 79 cases. The total number of dengue cases in Punjab this year has now gone up to 9,208.

The national capital Islamabad reported 73 new dengue cases in the last 24 hours, the health authorities said on Monday night. The city's total tally has risen to 3,242 this year.