Karachi [Pakistan], November 16 : The death toll in Pakistan's Sindh province due to dengue climbed to 36 after three more patients, including two women, lost their lives, Dawn reported, citing the provincial health department.
According to Dawn, citing officials, a 50-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman died in Hyderabad, while a 55-year-old woman passed away in Karachi.
The department reported 180 new dengue cases in the last 24 hours, with 113 patients admitted to public hospitals and 57 to private facilities. A total of 241 patients are currently under treatment across Sindh, Dawn reported.
In Karachi division, 44 patients were admitted to government hospitals, while Hyderabad reported 35 admissions, and other districts recorded 34.
Health authorities conducted 5,229 diagnostic tests during the past day, of which 774 were confirmed positive. Meanwhile, 191 patients recovered and were discharged, as reported by Dawn.
Officials urged residents to adopt preventive measures, remove mosquito breeding sites, and seek immediate medical care upon experiencing symptoms.
As the dengue epidemic deepens across Sindh, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has urged the federal government to declare an immediate health emergency in Karachi and Hyderabad, the two divisions worst hit by the mosquito-borne disease.
The PMA also pressed for urgent anti-vector measures to contain the outbreak, as reported by Dawn.
According to Dawn, data released by the provincial health department shows Sindh has witnessed 11,763 confirmed dengue cases so far this year, including 6,199 cases reported in November alone.
Expressing alarm over the situation, the PMA demanded an independent review of the provincial dengue control programme and called for greater accountability within municipal and health departments.
The association emphasised that the continued rise in infections reflected the failure of government machinery.
"The dengue emergency is not a natural disaster but the direct outcome of institutional negligence," the PMA said in a strongly worded statement.
It blamed the inefficiency and poor coordination between government departments for turning major urban centres into breeding hubs for mosquitoes.