Prevalence of dengue virus in Haripur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Dengue virus (DENV) has caused about 12 large outbreaks in Pakistan, resulting in 286,262 morbidities and 1108 deaths. The most affected province is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This study was conducted to determine the average DENV prevalence in different areas of the Haripur endemic district of KP and the causing factors of DENV. METHODS: This work was a cross-sectional study that was performed in the DENV endemic district Haripur. A total of 761 individuals were included in this study. The data were categorized according to sex, age and symptoms (like fever, body aches, bleeding, and skin rash). For data analysis, SPSS 23 version was applied. ArcGIS version 10.8 was used to map the study area. RESULTS: In this study, there were 716 confirmed cases of DENV fever, including 421 males (58.8%) and 295 females (41.2%). The most affected age range, 16-30 years, reported by 301 (42.0%), was followed by 31-45 years, 184 (25.7%), above 46 years, 132 (18.4%), and 0-15 years, 99 (13.8%). The positive IgG cases were 581(81.0%). Those whose age ranges from 1 to 15 years 82 (8.7%) cases, 16-30 years 244 (34.1%), 31-45 years 156 (21.8%), above 46-year age 99 (13.8%) cases. In addition, this suggests that those between the ages of 16 and 30 are at the highest risk for DENV infection. However, this might be the fact that individuals in this age range are more likely to be out in the environment, making them more vulnerable to the virus. CONCLUSION: Over the past ten years, DENV fever has become increasingly prevalent in Pakistan. The risk is substantially higher for males. Dengue outbreaks hit those between the ages of 16 and 30 the hardest. The proper monitoring and assessment of DENV are necessary for prevention and controlling the disease. Disease surveillance includes identification and molecular characterization of infected persons and monitoring mosquito populations in high-risk locations for the purpose of vector surveillance. In order to assess the community's willingness to participate in DENV preventive efforts, behavioral impact surveillance is also necessary.

Molecular Heterogeneity of ß-Thalassemia in the Kohat Region, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan.

The present study was intended to report the incidence of the most frequently occurring ß-thalassemia (ß-thal) mutations in the Kohat region [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, Pakistan], their inheritance pattern in patients, and consanguinity in the parents. Moreover, this study could provide valuable information regarding thalassemia diagnoses such as prenatal diagnosis (PND), genetic counseling and carrier screening for controlling the affected births in the population. During this study, 160 peripheral blood samples of affected patients, their parents and siblings were collected from 25 discrete families having at least one child needing regular blood transfusions from different areas of the Kohat region. ß-Thalassemia mutations found in the population were screened via the amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR). A total of 320 alleles was evaluated for the presence of six ß-thal mutations. Of these six ß-thal mutations, the frameshift codons (FSC) 8/9 (+G) (HBB: c.27_28insG) was found to be the most frequent in the studied population, and more interestingly, followed by IVS-I-5 (G>C) (HBB: c.92+5G>C) and FSC 5 (-CT) (HBB: c.17_18delCT). The findings of the present study show differences with previous results from other regions of the Pashtun population, which demarcates the heterogeneity in mutations found in the Pashtun ethnicity. These observations may help in implementing parental meetings about disease recurrence in future, large scale mutation screening and PND for the population of the Kohat region and also the whole Pashtun ethnicity.