Dengue cases are rising across Punjab, with 48 confirmed patients reported in the last 24 hours.

In Lahore alone, 15 new dengue cases emerged, bringing the city’s total number of confirmed patients to 245.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi recorded 20 new cases in the last 24 hours, raising its total dengue count to 676.

Overall, the number of confirmed dengue patients in Punjab has reached 1,430.

Health authorities have been monitoring the situation closely to stem the dengue outbreak in the region.

The public has been advised to adopt preventive measures, particularly regular cleaning of water containers, tanks and coolers, to help stop the spread of dengue.

Since 2010, Pakistan has been experiencing an epidemic of dengue fever that has caused 16,580 confirmed cases and 257 deaths in Lahore and nearly 5000 cases and 60 deaths reported from the rest of the country, the WHO said.

The three provinces facing the epidemic are Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh.

WHO is providing technical assistance to the Pakistan government to combat the epidemic.

This includes providing standard guidelines and capacity building in the planning and implementation of prevention and control measures.

The three main areas of focus are vector control, case management and community awareness.