Rains raise dengue concerns in Rawalpindi

RAWALPINDI:

The present spell of rain could escalate the breeding of dengue larvae, which needs immediate steps to tackle it.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hassan Waqar Cheema said this while chairing a meeting to review anti-dengue arrangements here at his office. He directed the departments concerned to implement anti-dengue SOPs in letter and spirit and create awareness among the people about the hazardous virus.

The commissioner directed the officials that after conducting indoor and outdoor surveillance, the affected areas should be cleared of the dengue virus last year. The DC also asked the people to remove stagnant water in outdoor and household settings to stop mosquitoes from breeding after rain and submerged water.

Meanwhile, the District Health Authority (DHA) has sealed 47 premises and lodged 47 FIRs on violations of anti-dengue SOPs from January 1 to date. The health officer said that the district administration, in collaboration with allied departments had issued tickets to 112 and a fine of Rs199,000 was imposed on violations of dengue SOPs in 2024.

Dr Sajjad said around four confirmed cases had been reported in the district this year, while the number was two in 2022, and 2023 during the same period. The health officer further stated that during indoor vector surveillance, the teams checked 1.1 million houses and larvae were detected at 2,254 sites while during outdoor surveillance larvae were found at 557 spots while inspecting 305,512 places.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2024.