Disease control: Dengue threat still looms large, says DCO

Urges vigilance by citizens, govt departments to completely eradicate virus

LAHORE: Although the prevalence of dengue larvae has declined, citizens and government departments need to remain vigilant to completely eradicate the virus, the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) has warned.

Lahore DCO Capt (retd) Muhammad Usman along with district administration and health department officials inspected indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance operations in GOR-II at Bahawalpur Road on Saturday.

He requested citizens to cooperate with dengue surveillance teams and keep their neighbourhoods dry and clean to limit dengue growth. He also asked citizens about the performance of CDGL anti-dengue squads.

Presently, he said, the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Nishter Colony, Gulberg Town, Samanabad Town and Allama Iqbal Town were the worst-affected areas from where patients were being reported. He warned that FIRs were being registered during indoor dengue surveillance against owners of houses from where dengue larvae was being reported for a second time, with 142 FIRs registered and 41 people arrested so far during the last two weeks.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2016.