RAWALPINDI:
Three confirmed dengue cases in a single day set the alarm bells ringing in Rawalpindi hospitals.
The three patients were admitted to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) after they tested positive for dengue on September 3.
Hospital officials said two of the patients belong to the same family. Liaqat Ali, 48, and his son Rabiul Haq, 16, are from Dhoke Syedan, while the third patient, Muazzam, 40, is a resident of Saddar.
BBH retained another two suspected dengue patients --- a man and a woman --- on Saturday as their test results have not come in, a hospital nurse told The Express Tribune.
She added that two positive patients were also admitted and treated last month.
The high season for potential dengue infections starts with the onset of the monsoon and runs up to November.
At least 25 dengue cases have been reported in Punjab this year, the nurse said.
She said that the hospital has started hiring nursing staff on ad-hoc basis to cope with any dengue emergency. There are always at least three doctors available in the dengue ward, she said. There is also a high dependency unit (HDU) in case a patient goes into shock due to the fever.
Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal said all three cases were reported in Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) areas. “We have directed the board to ensure cleanliness.”
Gondal said he had personally visited the homes of the patients. “There was water in the basement of the house of the patients from Dhoke Syedan and dengue larva was found in a tray placed in a fridge in the house of the other patient,” he said.
He said the health department had sprayed medicine in the houses and the area. He said the department has done fumigation in at least 49 houses surrounding the sites where larvae were found.
The EDO said he held a meeting with deputy EDOs and Rawalpindi district health officer (DHO) today to review the situation.
The Punjab government has decided to hold a “Cleanliness Day” on September 7 and a dengue prevention day on September 14. The government will arrange public awareness events to mark the day.
“Our indoor and outdoor surveillance teams are continuously inspecting and identifying places where dengue larva can potentially breed,” the EDO said.
Accumulation of water in room coolers was cited as the cause of 34 per cent of the dengue cases in the province, he added.
DCO Sajid Zafar Daal told The Express Tribune that five cases have been reported in the district so far, all in RCB areas. He said the district administration and RCB have formulated a joint strategy to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne virus.
“We have decided to shift workers assigned in low-priority areas to the cantonment areas. City district government teams will assist the RCB teams in the drive.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2014.
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