Rawalpindi administration has declared a dengue emergency due to a concerning increase in cases in the district.
The Deputy Commissioner announced that emergency counters have been set up and mobile teams are actively working to combat the dengue virus, which is now considered more dangerous due to a new variant.
In response to the surge in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global initiative to combat dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.
WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the alarming rise in dengue cases, which have reportedly doubled each year since 2021. In the first eight months of 2024 alone, over 12.3 million cases and more than 7,900 deaths have been reported globally, nearly double the total of 6.5 million cases recorded in 2023.
Dengue fever, characterized by high fever and severe body aches, often shows no symptoms in many individuals. The WHO estimates that annual infections range from 100 million to 400 million worldwide.