Govt helpless amid dengue spurt

Health department concerned over increasing load on hospitals

LAHORE:

The Punjab health authorities appear helpless to curb dengue fever in the province, with around 1,000 new patients registered in the province during the past week, including 149 in the last 24 hours.

According to sources, the situation is being deemed alarming in several populous districts of the province, especially Rawalpindi, where an emergency had already been imposed to cope with the public health risk. However, at least 134 new dengue cases recorded during the past 24 hours were reported from the Rawalpindi region.

The Punjab Health Monitoring Department revealed that new dengue patients had also been confirmed in Lahore, Bahawalpur, Shekihupura, Jhelum, Faisalabad and some other districts.

A senior health official said the affected areas were almost in the grip of dengue and the situation was not improving despite efforts for the purpose.

"Two days ago, we identified 160 dengue patients in Punjab in a day, while the figure for the past week is around 1,000. The patients," the official said.

The patients were registered in government and private hospitals across Punjab. The official said the increasing number of dengue patients was alarming and the load on the hospitals was likely to increase in the coming weeks.

He said the health ministry and hospital administrations should make arrangements for tne treatment of a higher number of patients. He said the increase in the number of dengue cases showed that the authorities in the health ministry had failed to adequately handle the situation so far despite frequent visits and meetings related to the issue.

The official said the health department had informed the authorities concerned about the increasing number of patients when the trend had emerged two months ago. He said then situation had not improved despite the warning, probably because of lack of interest of the officials concerned.

He said dengue patients were currently present in almost half of the districts of Punjab. The official said fumigation and other anti-dengue activities should be started in the educational institutions, departments, mosques and localities.

He said the ministry should understand that practical actions were urgently needed to prevent the spread of dengue across the province.

At least 3,285 dengue cases have been confirmed in Punjab during the ongoing year, with a drastic increase recorded during the past two months.

The patients admitted to hospitals belong to all age groups, including young schoolchildren.

A large number of patients suffering from fever are visiting the hospitals' outpatient department daily morning in the populous districts. The hospitals administrators are also concerned about arrangements for the increasing number of patients.

However, Punjab Health Department spokesperson Hamad Raza said the department and the provincial government were fully prepared to handle the dengue situation. He said the best arrangements had already been made in the hospitals.

Dengue wards are operational and all the required medicines are available in the hospitals, he added. The spokesman said the health ministry was working day and night in practical efforts to curb the dengue disease in Punjab.

Anti-smog action

Police initiated the implementation of the Environmental Protection Action Plan 2023 to prevent smog.

According to a statement, the police, in collaboration with the Environment Department, district administration, and other allied departments, will work to curb pollution. To ensure the enforcement of the Smog Prevention and Control Rules 2023, Lahore Police has devised a patrolling plan.

The plan includes monitoring areas on the outskirts of the city, keeping an eye on activities such as crop residue burning, brick kilns, and tire-burning pyrolysis plants.