Islamabad, Oct 19 – The Sindh Health Department says 819 dengue cases have been confirmed in Pakistan, but data from Karachi’s top hospitals and a public lab in Hyderabad point to a much larger outbreak—over 12,000 cases in just six weeks, local media reported Sunday.
The government reports only one death from dengue in July. Independent sources say the toll is higher: four people in Hyderabad and two in Karachi have died from the mosquito‑borne illness. When officials were pressed for details, a senior member of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) questioned the official numbers and warned that the state data do not reflect reality on the ground.
Official figures from the Director General of Health Services list 579 dengue cases in Karachi division and 119 in Hyderabad district for 2025. Hospital data tell a different story. Between September 1 and Oct 16, Karachi’s Indus Hospital, Liaquat National Hospital and Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre reported 2,972 cases. Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre added another 1,062 cases from July to now. Aga Khan University Hospital also records more dengue cases than in 2024, with several deaths.
Hyderabad’s situation is alarming. Diagnostic and Research Laboratory of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Jamshoro and its branches logged 9,075 dengue cases from September 1 to Oct 14.
PMA Sindh President Bashir Ahmed Khaskheli said the outbreak is far more serious than the official figures suggest. “There is no official mechanism to gather data from private clinics, quacks or community healers. Many patients skip lab tests because of cost,” he told Dawn.
Faisal Mahmood, a professor of infectious diseases at AKUH, confirmed the spike in cases. He added that the end of October usually sees the highest dengue activity.
The growing numbers underline the urgent need for better surveillance and a unified response against dengue in Pakistan.
Source: ianslive
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