KARACHI: A 19-year-old girl from Korangi died of dengue fever on Sunday at the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre (SIDH&RC), bringing the official death toll in the province to 26 since October.
According to the Sindh health department’s data, the teenager was admitted to the hospital after experiencing fits and was diagnosed with dengue encephalitis — a rare and severe neurological complication of dengue. “She reported to us with dengue encephalitis, which causes seizures, muscle weakness, and confusion. Unfortunately, she passed away a day after admission,” a senior doctor at SIDH&RC.
Read More: Around 1,000 more test positive for dengue across Sindh
Medical staff at the hospital confirmed that despite a decline in temperature, dengue infections have shown no signs of slowing down. “We are not seeing any drop in cases. It might take until December to witness a noticeable decrease in Karachi,” the doctor added. Currently, 30 patients are under treatment for dengue at SIDH&RC, which has recorded 13 fatalities this year.
The health department’s latest figures revealed that 727 new dengue cases were reported in the past 24 hours — 269 in Karachi and 458 in Hyderabad. The total number of dengue cases this month has reached 6,708, with 12,284 cases recorded across the province since the start of the year. Experts warn that although dengue is not directly contagious, infected patients can transmit the virus to mosquitoes during the first few days of illness, allowing further spread.
Read More: 12 new dengue cases reported in ICT