Islamabad, Oct 13 (IANS): The number of dengue patients across Pakistan has crossed the 50,000 mark as health officials struggled to cope with the deadly epidemic on a mass scale which has also claimed 250 lives so far this year.

According to reports, the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were the worst-hit areas, Geo News reported on Sunday.

Health officials estimate that at least 25,000 people in the twin cities have tested positive for the dengue virus recently. In the two big hospitals of Islamabad alone, some 8,000 dengue cases have been identified.

Health departments has confirmed at least 35 deaths from the dengue virus in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. On Friday, another death was reported from the Morgah area of the Rawalpindi city.

At least 750 dengue patients were currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals in the twin cities, where the health staff taking care of them numbers only 35.

At least 150 law enforcement officials have also fallen victim to the dengue virus.

Last week, two people died of dengue in Karachi, taking the death toll of people dying from the deadly disease to 14 in the metropolis. Meanwhile, thousands more people reportedly tested positive for dengue in Punjab.