Dengue season peaks: KP passes 3,600 cases with two deaths in Abbottabad, Punjab reports 250 — warning signs to know

Key takeaways

• October is the high-risk month for dengue in Pakistan, and cases are still being reported every day in several districts.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 3,671 cases so far in 2026, with 74 new cases in 24 hours, according to the provincial health department's surveillance report cited by Dawn. Two people died in Abbottabad this week.
• Punjab has 250 confirmed cases this year, led by Lahore (65) and Rawalpindi, Lahore News reports.
• In Karachi, Jamaat-i-Islami and Alkhidmat have started a 10-day fumigation drive.
• There is no specific medicine for dengue; doctors advise paracetamol for fever and avoiding aspirin and ibuprofen.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

KP's Integrated Diseases Surveillance and Response System says Kohat district has been hit hardest this year with 2,319 patients, followed by Peshawar (500), Bannu (159), Khyber (120) and Haripur (102), Dawn reports. The report said 134 cases were active.

Monthly figures show how the season has built up:

Period (2026)	New cases in KP
January–May	115
June	90
July	111
August	573
September	1,691
1–15 October	1,091

Source: KP health department report, as reported by Dawn.

Health teams have found mosquito larvae at several sites. Experts quoted by Dawn say power cuts force families to store water, which gives mosquitoes places to breed. KP reported more than 6,000 cases and four deaths last year.

Punjab and Rawalpindi

Punjab's confirmed tally stands at 250, with 84 of those cases reported in October, according to Lahore News. Lahore has 65 and Rawalpindi follows; Multan and Chakwal have 15 each. Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir said surveillance has been stepped up and action is being taken against people who break dengue rules.

In Rawalpindi district, the health department has confirmed 58 cases this year, including 25 in October, after screening 5,661 suspected patients, the official APP news agency reported on 16 October. No deaths have been recorded there, and five patients were in hospital. Inspectors found larvae at more than 200,000 homes checked.

Symptoms and warning signs

The most common symptom is fever with any of the following: pain behind the eyes, muscle, joint or bone pain, headache, nausea or vomiting, and rash, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Symptoms usually last 2–7 days.

Go to a hospital immediately if someone with dengue has any of these warning signs, which often appear 24–48 hours after the fever goes down:

• Belly pain or tenderness
• Vomiting at least three times in 24 hours
• Bleeding from the nose or gums
• Vomiting blood or blood in the stool
• Feeling very tired, restless or irritable

How to protect your family

• Empty, cover or clean anything that holds water: buckets, coolers, flower pots, tyres and water tanks.
• Use mosquito repellent and wear long sleeves; the Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue often bites during the day.
• Use nets and window screens, especially for children and older people.
• If someone is sick, rest, drink plenty of fluids and take paracetamol for fever. Do not take aspirin or ibuprofen, the CDC advises. Keep the patient away from mosquitoes so the virus does not spread.

What to watch

• Daily case counts in Kohat, Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi through late October.
• Whether cases fall as temperatures drop in November, as usually happens.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Please see a doctor if you or a family member has fever or any warning signs.