Pakistan, Sept. 5 -- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has entered September with its sharpest weekly rise in dengue cases in 34 weeks. Ninety-eight infections were confirmed over the past week, up from 87, taking this year's tally to 581. There is still some comfort in comparison with last year, when more than 1,000 cases and four deaths had been recorded by this time, whereas no dengue fatality has been reported so far. The provincial government's early start to its Dengue Action Plan appears to have helped. The problem is that the difficult part of the season has only just begun.

Officials expect high transmission to continue until the end of October. Peshawar has reported 220 cases and Kohat 209. Together, two districts account for almost three-qua...