Community participation key to fighting dengue
Experts say govt needs to review urbanisation policies.
FAISALABAD:
Experts at a conference on prevention of dengue fever on Tuesday said that the sharp decline in the number of confirmed cases in the province in two years showed that political will and community participation were critical to preventing outbreaks of the disease in future.
They said compared to more than 17,000 confirmed dengue cases in September 2011, the number of people reportedly affected this year was down to 150.
They categorised proper arrangements for sanitation, regular surveillance of possible mosquito breeding sites and coordination between the government, experts and citizens as critical features of a campaign against the disease.
They said while preventing the mosquito from breeding in populated areas was an effective way to control the disease, the government should also review its urbanisation policy as part of its anti-dengue campaign. They said unplanned urbanisation was responsible for providing a hospitable environment to the mosquito for breeding.
The conference on Prevention, Management and Future Strategies of Dengue has been arranged by the Punjab Medical College.
The University of Faisalabad Professor Dr Zahid Masood said dengue fever had been categorised by the World Health Organisation Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office as an emerging disease. He said the WHO had predicted major outbreaks of the disease in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen placed in Group A.
Prof Masood said dengue fever was among the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTD). He said the WHO had put down strategies to prevent outbreaks of the disease in Global Strategy for Dengue Prevention and Control in 2012. He said the document stated that the WHO intended to reduce deaths from the disease by 50 per cent until 2020.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2012.
Experts at a conference on prevention of dengue fever on Tuesday said that the sharp decline in the number of confirmed cases in the province in two years showed that political will and community participation were critical to preventing outbreaks of the disease in future.
They said compared to more than 17,000 confirmed dengue cases in September 2011, the number of people reportedly affected this year was down to 150.
They categorised proper arrangements for sanitation, regular surveillance of possible mosquito breeding sites and coordination between the government, experts and citizens as critical features of a campaign against the disease.
They said while preventing the mosquito from breeding in populated areas was an effective way to control the disease, the government should also review its urbanisation policy as part of its anti-dengue campaign. They said unplanned urbanisation was responsible for providing a hospitable environment to the mosquito for breeding.
The conference on Prevention, Management and Future Strategies of Dengue has been arranged by the Punjab Medical College.
The University of Faisalabad Professor Dr Zahid Masood said dengue fever had been categorised by the World Health Organisation Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office as an emerging disease. He said the WHO had predicted major outbreaks of the disease in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen placed in Group A.
Prof Masood said dengue fever was among the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTD). He said the WHO had put down strategies to prevent outbreaks of the disease in Global Strategy for Dengue Prevention and Control in 2012. He said the document stated that the WHO intended to reduce deaths from the disease by 50 per cent until 2020.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2012.