The epidemiology of dengue fever in district Faisalabad, Pakistan

Dengue fever (DF) is globally emerging mosquito born viral disease. Pakistan is at high risk of dengue fever due to unavailability of vaccine, crowded cities, inadequate sanitation, unsafe water and large number of refugees. The present study was intended to investigate the epidemiology of DF in Faisalabad, Pakistan. This was a retrospective study to measure the frequency and distribution of the disease. Total 1509 cases of Dengue fever were admitted in Allied Hospital, Faisalabad during 6 months. Casecontrol epidemiological study was also conducted to identify some of the risk factors of the disease. For this purpose cases (n = 200) and control (n = 200) were confirmed through identification of antibodies against Dengue virus (immunoglobulin G) in the serum. The pre-tested questionnaires were used to collect the data on various factors. The results showed that the relative incidence of DF was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in males (71%) than in females (29%). The most susceptible age group was 21-30 years with relative incidence of 34%. Relative incidence was highest (43%) in the month of October. Various factors which were found associated with the disease were People working in Lahore, people visiting Lahore during epidemic, excessive travelling, presence of disease in the family or neighboring houses, people living near watery areas, immunocompromised persons and low level of awareness. Further epidemiological studies are needed to establish the effect of risk factor on population.