LAHORE, NOV 04 : Punjab on Thursday reported 462 new cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever in the last 24 hours period. Provincial health secretary, Imran Sikandar Baloch has said that two deaths of dengue patients were reported in the province yesterday, while the viral disease has claimed 53 lives in Punjab in this season.

The health secretary has said that during the past 24 hours, 462 dengue fever cases were reported in Punjab including, 331 in Lahore only. Moreover, 54 cases of the viral disease were detected in Rawalpindi, 17 in Gujranwala, nine in Kasur, five each in Faisalabad and Multan, and four each in Vehari, Sargodha and Bahawalpur districts, the secretary health said.

In Punjab so far 16,346 dengue hemorrhagic fever cases have been reported in the current season, health secretary further said. Health secretary had earlier said that the administration has stepped up efforts to counter the ongoing trend of an upsurge in the mosquito-borne virus disease in the province.

An upsurge of dengue hemorrhagic fever cases have also been reported in federal capital Islamabad and other parts of the country including Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.