PESHAWAR: At least seven persons have died and over 1,500 affected after dengue outbreak in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said today.
This is the first time since dengue's outbreak in the province that any official data has been released. A total of 1,547 were tested positive for the virus since, of which 560 were admitted to different hospitals in the provincial capital, according to statistics released by the Deputy Commissioner's Office, the Dawn reported.
The document said 242 patients are still being treated. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak and Health Minister Shahram Tarakai visited the affected areas and announced Rs 500,000 compensation for each of the deceased.
The recent dengue outbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw has become an alarming situation for the authorities and residents. The first case of dengue outbreak this year was reported from Peshawar on June 14 this year. Pakistan has experienced many dengue outbreaks since the first observed in 1994.
Two major outbreaks were reported over the last two decades: one in 2005, in which over 6,000 cases and 52 deaths were reported in Karachi, and in 2011 when more than 21,000 cases and 350 deaths were reported from Lahore.