Health dept fails to visit 4,567 dengue hotspots

Experts say negligence may lead to more dengue cases next year

RAWALPINDI:

A decrease in temperature in the twin cities has simultaneously led to a decrease in dengue cases.

However, during the Punjab Health Department’s anti-dengue campaign, only 2,714 hotspots were visited, while 4,567 were not. The Dashboard’s Daily Express report revealed these figures.

According to experts in the Information Technology Board, these unvisited sites can cause dengue to spread rapidly next year.

The report also states that some strict notice has been taken during the anti-dengue campaign over violations of SOPS. From January 1 to November 9, 273 FIRs were registered, and 1801 warning notices were issued.

Around 379 buildings were sealed, and 871 were fined Rs905,500. Meanwhile, the hotspots that were marked for dengue included swimming pools, buildings under construction, vacant buildings, warehouses, junkyards, service stations, tire shops, workshops, water ponds, marriage halls, nurseries, dispensaries, parks, hostels, garbage points, and colleges, according to the report.

Read Dengue cases exceed 1,342 in Islamabad

The monitoring of the anti-dengue campaign has been carried out daily in meetings of the District Emergency Response Committees at the District level and Tehsil Emergency Response Committees at the Tehsil level. However, over time, only a fraction of the hotspots were visited and appropriately dealt with.

In the absence of dengue hotspot visits, it is feared that if the situation is not dealt with promptly, there will be a risk of widespread dengue next year.

Currently, there have been only 109 dengue patients are occupying beds in dengue wards in three hospitals in Rawalpindi city. Most dengue patients admitted to government hospitals have also started recovering and returning to their homes, health officials said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2021.