Anti-dengue drive: ICT health dept to launch campaign in September

The first of the campaign will focus on the fumigation of over 1,500 vulnerable places including schools.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration will launch an anti-dengue drive in the capital’s rural areas in the first week of September after the monsoon rains recede.

The decision was taken during a meeting on Tuesday chaired by Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed, who directed the ICT’s Health Department to plan an extensive campaign against dengue, according to ICT Spokesperson Rana Akbar Hayat.

Hayat said the campaign has been divided into two phases, the first of which will focus on the fumigation of over 1,500 vulnerable places including schools.

In the second phase, an awareness campaign titled ‘Significance of cleanliness and preventive measures against dengue’ will be launched, during which over 2,500 posters and pamphlets will be distributed.

Hayat said only one case of dengue has been reported in the capital since the turn of the year. Muhammad Amir, a resident of Chiniot, who was diagnosed with the disease on August 9, is receiving treatment at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

During the meeting, District Health Officer Dr Muhammad Azhar briefed Ahmed about the extensive plan, informing him that all rural area union councils would remain on their toes throughout the campaign.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 15^th, 2013.