Officials told to step up surveillance efforts

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Raffique has directed officials to increase outdoor and indoor dengue surveillance in districts where larva was not reported or identified in smaller quantities.

He stated this while presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Dengue at the S&GAD Committee Room in the Civil Secretariat. Dengue Experts Advisory Group Convener and former KEMU VC Professor Faisal Masood advised that dengue patients should be treated very carefully.  He said a flowchart of patients must be maintained to keep an eye on the numbers. The professor said that only trained doctors and nurses from DEAG should be deputed for the treatment of affected people.



Giving his expert opinion, Professor Masood further stated that the blood pressure of such patients would go below the normal level and anyone suspected of being infected with the virus should be shifted from district headquarter hospitals to ICUs of tertiary healthcare units.

Professor Wasim Akram observed that there was a dire need to improve dengue surveillance in the districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2017.