Dengue advisory issued as the late monsoon lingers in Punjab and Sindh

Provincial health departments in Punjab and Sindh issued a joint dengue advisory on Monday after a rise in confirmed cases in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, and parts of Karachi. The advisory is familiar. The timing is not: the late monsoon has left more standing water than a typical first week of September.

What households should do this week

• Empty and scrub water tanks, plant trays, and cooler trays once a week.
• Use screens or a repellent at dusk, when Aedes mosquitoes are most active.
• If fever lasts more than two days, test early — do not wait for the classic rash.

What hospitals were told

Tertiary hospitals must keep a dengue isolation roster and report platelet shortages daily. Private labs have been asked to follow a single case-definition so the numbers mean the same thing in every district.