Health minister orders strict dengue surveillance
Says special cleanliness drive will be carried out in mosques for safety of people
PHOTO: REUTERS
LAHORE:
Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafiq directed all departments concerned to pay special attention to dengue surveillance at graveyards, junkyards, tyre shops and warehouses.
He asked technical experts to update the guidelines of field staff, according to climatic effects, as larvae and patients were reported from semi-urban areas of the province.
He issued this statement while presiding over a meeting at the Civil Secretariat, along with Minister for Primary and Secondary Health Khawaja Imran Nazir, of the Cabinet Committee on Dengue.
Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja also attended the moot along with the health, local government, schools, cooperatives and forest secretaries, apart from senior officers of departments concerned.
Dengue Expert Advisory Group Convener Professor Faisal Masood was present, while deputy commissioners and CEOs of other districts participated via video link.
Dengue workers demand 10-month salary
Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja told the districts that the reporting of larvae was an indicator of good fieldwork by the teams.
He directed DCs to carry out third-part assessments of indoor and outdoor surveillance in their respective areas. Professor Faisal said special attention must be paid on surveillance in Gujranwala district as it may become a hub for the spread of dengue after the rainy season.
Chief Minister Dengue Research Cell In charge Professor Wasim Akram disclosed that dengue larvae had been caught from water accumulated in big tree-holes. Therefore, he suggested instructions should be issued to field staff to conduct special checks to eliminate dengue breading sites.
Khawaja Salman said duties of field staff during Eid holidays should be assigned on a rotational basis. He said a large number of people would visit graveyards on Eid; therefore, dengue sweeping must be completed before the occasion. Moreover, a special cleanliness drive would be carried out in mosques and open grounds for the safety of the people.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2017.
Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafiq directed all departments concerned to pay special attention to dengue surveillance at graveyards, junkyards, tyre shops and warehouses.
He asked technical experts to update the guidelines of field staff, according to climatic effects, as larvae and patients were reported from semi-urban areas of the province.
He issued this statement while presiding over a meeting at the Civil Secretariat, along with Minister for Primary and Secondary Health Khawaja Imran Nazir, of the Cabinet Committee on Dengue.
Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja also attended the moot along with the health, local government, schools, cooperatives and forest secretaries, apart from senior officers of departments concerned.
Dengue Expert Advisory Group Convener Professor Faisal Masood was present, while deputy commissioners and CEOs of other districts participated via video link.
Dengue workers demand 10-month salary
Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja told the districts that the reporting of larvae was an indicator of good fieldwork by the teams.
He directed DCs to carry out third-part assessments of indoor and outdoor surveillance in their respective areas. Professor Faisal said special attention must be paid on surveillance in Gujranwala district as it may become a hub for the spread of dengue after the rainy season.
Chief Minister Dengue Research Cell In charge Professor Wasim Akram disclosed that dengue larvae had been caught from water accumulated in big tree-holes. Therefore, he suggested instructions should be issued to field staff to conduct special checks to eliminate dengue breading sites.
Khawaja Salman said duties of field staff during Eid holidays should be assigned on a rotational basis. He said a large number of people would visit graveyards on Eid; therefore, dengue sweeping must be completed before the occasion. Moreover, a special cleanliness drive would be carried out in mosques and open grounds for the safety of the people.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2017.