Hospitals contribute to dengue surge

Survey detects huge amount of mosquito larvae from three healthcare facilities

RAWALPINDI:

The health authorities in Rawalpindi woke up to a rude shock on Thursday that having failed to eradicate the larvae of dengue-spreading mosquitoes from the district, they also evidently remained unsuccessful in eradicating the menace from the three allied hospitals of the garrison city.

According to sources, during a third-party survey, a large number of dengue larvae were detected in Rawalpindi’s three allied hospitals, including the Holy Family Hospital, the District Headquarters Hospital (Civil Hospital) and the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital.

The sources said these three major hospitals of the city may have been contributing to the spread of the deadly disease.

Taking strict notice of the grave situation, Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema issued show cause notices to the Deputy Medical Superintendent of the Holy Family Hospital and the Medical Officer of the DHQ Hospital while seeking an explanation over alleged negligence to the adherence of dengue SOPs.

Meanwhile, the recovery of dengue larvae from the BBH in the second third-party survey has alarmed the relevant officers as well as the doctors working in the hospital.

A report in this regard was also submitted to the office of the deputy commissioner a day earlier and strict action is expected.

According to sources, the third-party survey teams of the Civil Defence Department conducted the dengue surveillance in the major city hospitals on the directives of the deputy commissioner.

Earlier, the hospital staff and the anti-dengue teams of these hospitals had declared them clear of the dengue larvae but the teams still recovered a huge amount of larvae from 10 to 15 places in the three hospitals, exposing the poor performance of the anti-dengue campaign of the health department.

When contacted, District Officer of Civil Defence, Talib Hussain, confirmed that the department’s third-party teams during dengue surveillance in the three allied hospitals, recovered a huge amount of larvae in the presence of management officials.

Delving into the details, Hussain said the larvae were recovered from places such as canteens, corridors, basements, standing rainwater, drains, refrigerator trays, drains and the air conditioner water.

He said the samples of the dengue larvae were sealed in bottles and submitted to the office of the deputy commissioner along with a report while all the remaining larvae were immediately destroyed.

On the other hand, the process of fogging and spraying was immediately started in the three hospitals after detection of the dengue larvae while the cleanliness situation in these hospitals has been described as unsatisfactory.

In addition, the number of dengue patients in the public and private hospitals of the Rawalpindi district has exceeded 90 and 100 respectively while medical experts have declared until October 31 the peak season for the dengue spread.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2023.