Water-borne diseases alert issued
The Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (PSHD) Punjab has issued an alert of water-borne diseases in eight districts of the province due to the current heavy rains. The PSHD spokesperson on Friday said the district health authorities of district Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Sialkot, Jhelum, Sargodha, Hafizabad and Faisalabad must take proper measures immediately besides monitoring the situation of the water-borne diseases. PSHD Secretary Captain (retd) M Usman warned that water-borne diseases like Diarrhea, Gastro, Hepatitis A and E and Typhoid could be spread after heavy rains due to contaminated water. He urged the authorities to ensure special arrangements in all districts in this regard. He directed officers concerned to ensure immediate uploading of all cases of expected water-borne diseases at DSS Dashboard. He urged the district’s Rapid Response Force to take immediate action in the most affected areas. The secretary was directed to ensure the safety of the field teams besides their monitoring. He said the stock of available medicines in hospitals should be checked and provision of free medicines to the needy people should be ensured.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2020.