Pindi confirms first dengue case of 2020

Health authorities fumigate 49 houses in neighbourhood

RAWALPINDI:

The health authorities of Rawalpindi on Friday said that the first dengue fever patient of the city for the year had been confirmed, adding that they have fumigated several houses around the patient’s house to prevent the spread of the virus.

District Health Authority (DHA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Sohail Chaudhry said that Junaid, a resident of the Allahbad neighbourhood in the Westridge area of Rawalpindi, had got himself tested at a private laboratory where he tested positive for the dengue virus infection.

The official said that even though he has tested positive, the patient remains under treatment at his home.

Meanwhile, to prevent the spread of the virus, the DHA official sent teams to fumigate the house and 49 other adjoining premises.

The anti-mosquito fumigation, commonly known as fogging, was also carried out on the streets and open plots in the area.

Dengue ends naturally, wards stay for next year

Dr Chaudhry said that so far, they have not received any dengue patients at any of the three allied hospitals of the city including Holy Family Hospital (HFH), the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital (BBH) or the District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital.

The DHA official said that given that the post-monsoon season is a high-incidence season for dengue, they will proceed with the implementation of their anti-dengue plan in the city, including constitution of desks and laboratory facilities at government hospitals apart from dengue wards in these facilities as per schedule.

The district administration and the metropolitan corporation are conducting surveillance to detect dengue larvae, he said.

Lack of support

Meanwhile, DHA officials said that the district administration has been duly informed by the authority that other departments have not shown an interest in the anti-dengue campaign.

Even the DHA jumped into action when the first dengue positive patient was reported in the city.

Officials of the health department have been marking hotspots around the city and organising dengue surveillance in various areas.

Organisations that have not mobilised their personnel for the anti-dengue campaign include the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC), education department and others.

Uncontrollable dengue virus claims another life​​​​​​​

DHA has asked the deputy commissioner to mobilise these institutions for the anti-dengue campaign so that the breeding of dengue fever causing mosquitoes can be stopped by finding and destroying as many larvae as possible.

Moreover, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Anwarul Haq has started surprise visits to check dengue surveillance exercise in which a total of 3,250 people are participating.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2020.