ISLAMABAD, NOV 06 (DNA) – At least twenty one people in Kashmir Valley Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) all returning from outside, had been found to be infected with Dengue virus.

According to Kashmir Media Service (KMS), the absence of a testing mechanism in the public sector is creating hurdles in timely testing and surveillance of the vector-borne disease.

A senior health official said that since Dengue fever is quite rare in Kashmir, the current surge in cases has necessitated more frequent testing of suspected cases. He said all the cases that have been detected have a history of travel to outside of the J&K.

 “We do not have any testing facility in Kashmir division and when we receive a patient with fever coupled with a history of travel to outside, we order dengue and malaria tests,” the official said.

He said that many people skip the test as it is unavailable in any of the government hospitals and only a few laboratories take the samples to get them tested from outside of the territory.

 The dengue profile and other tests required for the diagnosis of the disease, he said, costs around Rs 2000. = DNA

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