Almost 10,000 people infected with dengue fever in Pakistan

A team of World Health Organization (WHO) is arriving on Sunday in Pakistan to help cope with dengue fever that has affected almost 10,000 people in the country, the Pakistani news agency INN reported, referring to official sources. In recent weeks, dengue fever has rapidly spread across Pakistan but the country's north-eastern Punjab province has been the worst hit by the virus, with over 8,700 infections registered in the provincial capital Lahore. Dengue fever has already claimed 104 lives in Pakistan. The WHO team will give suggestions to contain and eradicate the outbreak of dengue fever and will also provide health tips to medical practitioners for the treatment of the dengue virus. The experts will also visit the affected areas, INN reported. The dengue virus causes an infectious tropical disease known as dengue fever, which is characterized by headaches, severe joint pain, and a rash. In some cases, far more life-threatening hemorrhagic fever or shock syndrome can develop. Pakistan is trying to contain the outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness, but medical supplies in the region are running out. Punjab is Pakistan's most-populous province, with 56 percent of the country's population of some 173 million living there. Pakistan is already coping with flooding that has killed more than 225 people in recent weeks. Experts say poor hygiene is responsible for the spread of the disease, but heavy monsoon rains are also providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes, carriers of dengue fever.