LAHORE, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Pakistan's dengue outbreak continues to spread as more than 5,000 cases have now been reported, including at least 17 fatalities, local media reported on Wednesday.
The ongoing outbreak is mostly affecting Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab where more than 3,500 cases have been reported in the provincial capital of Lahore alone. Three more deaths brought the death toll to 17, Pakistan Today reported.
Punjab Chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, meanwhile, said the government is taking a series of measures to fight the dengue fever outbreak. Among other measures, Sharif noted that medicines were being imported from the United Kingdom as officials are trying to receive medicines from India as well. In addition, medical teams from Sri Lanka have arrived in Lahore.
The latest fatal victims of the outbreak include Constable of Punjab Police Mujahid Squad Atta Muhammad, a 14-year-old boy identified as Ali, and an employee of the Population Welfare Department, Syed Nadeem Raza. All of them died on Wednesday.
Muhammad died at the Jinnah Hospital where he had been receiving medical treatment while Ali died while under treatment at the Children's Hospital. Syed, 40, of the Mauzan area, died early in the morning after being shifted to the Services Hospital four days ago where doctors discovered he had been suffering from dengue fever.
In total, Pakistan's National Institute of Health said approximately 5,200 dengue fever cases have been reported across the country, and officials fear the death toll will continue to rise.
On Tuesday, provincial government officials announced that elementary, high schools, and colleges will be shut down for 10 days as officials reorganize their health measures to avoid further spreading of the epidemic. While fumigation will be carried out at the schools, the announcement was received with mixed reactions, as some expressed concerns whether the school syllabus would be completed on time.
Last week, the Punjab government was accused of criminal negligence for not being transparent about the outbreak. Advocate Noshab A Khan said that the outbreak had worsened because it had not been properly controlled during the early stages and the fumigation campaign had been of poor quality.
Dengue spreads more often after the rainy season when stagnant water on the streets may activate the breed of mosquitoes, causing dengue fever. Heavy monsoon rains in southeastern Pakistan have so far claimed the lives of some 200 people and displaced millions more.