Dengue deadlier because of prolonged monsoon

Arafat Ara Dengue outbreaks have soared to a five-year high this season as aedes mosquitoes went on the rampage because of a prolonged monsoon, officials said Saturday. The Health Department said 1,270 people have been diagnosed with the deadly fever until October 13 with six deaths, the highest toll since 2006 when 2,200 people were infected with the tropical disease and 11 people died. But Dr BeNazir Ahmed, director of disease control, said the outbreak was deadlier than the state figure suggests, as thousands of people took care at home, while small clinics simply didn't report their cases to the authorities. "We think the real figure should be 10-20 times more than the state statistics. Our figures only include reported dengue patients in the top five or six hospitals," he told the FE. According to the department, the recorded number of denegue patients was 466 in 2007, 1,153 in 2008, 474 in 2009 and 409 in 2010. During the period no one died of the fever. "No doubt, this year's outbreak was massive, which has overstretched our medical services. For the last four months, doctors who have been trained to control dengue have had a tough time," he said.