Another dengue patient admitted to PIMS.

ISLAMABAD, October 09, 2009 (Balochistan Times): Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Friday confirmed that another dengue fever patient has been admitted in the hospital for treatment. According to hospital sources, the blood samples of 16 years old Aasia from Kashmir which were sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) for investigation reported positive after which the patient has been shifted to isolation ward. They said with this new case the number of admitted dengue patients at PIMS increased to five included Astan Khan (50) resident of Abbottabad, Muhammad Rizwan (22) Haripur, Safeer (17) from Golra and Mursaleen (5) from Islamabad. They said the hospital has started treatment of new patient and bearer-nursing has been adopted and a team of doctors including Dr. Nighat Bilal, Dr.Jamal Zafar and Dr. Iqtida Haidar Sherazi are providing treatment to all dengue patients. Dr. Wasim Khawaja from PIMS said that dengue is a mosquito-borne infection which in recent years has become a major public health concern. He said dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas. He said dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses while symptoms appear in 3-14 days (average 4-7 days) after the infective bite. He added dengue fever is severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults. He said there is no specific treatment for dengue fever however, careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses frequently saves the lives of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) patients.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)