Dengue prep: Blood donors registered online

CM approves Rs5.7m for PCR lab at hospital.

LAHORE:

Lahore General Hospital has started registering blood donors online, on the instructions of the Punjab government, so they can be contacted quickly in case of a platelet shortage in the upcoming dengue season.

LGH Dean and Post Graduate Medical Institute Principal Prof Tariq Salahuddin said this at a meeting at the hospital on Tuesday to review preparations for another potential dengue outbreak in the coming months, according to a press release issued by the Directorate General of Public Relations. Prof Salahuddin said that dengue was a social problem which could be addressed through the dissemination of accurate information at seminars and workshops and through pamphlets. He said that the media, civil society, medical experts and religious scholars should also help educate the public regarding preventive measures and good hygiene.

He said that the number of beds in high dependency units and intensive care units at all medical wards must be increased ahead of the outbreak. He said that a committee of senior medical experts had been formed to counsel patients and their attendants. A daily session on dengue has also been included in the LGH Nursing School schedule. The hospital will not charge dengue patients token fees and will set up separate counters for male and female patients.

Prof Salahuddin said that Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had approved the establishment of a PCR laboratory at Lahore General Hospital at a cost of Rs5.7 million. PCR stands for polymerase chain reaction, a process used in DNA testing.

LGH Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Hassan and doctors and nurses who were trained in anti-dengue measures in Thailand also attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2012.