LAHORE: Twenty-five patients suffering from dengue fever have been admitted to various public and private hospitals in the city while the City District Government Lahore’s (CDGL) rapid fog spray plan continues, Executive District Officer (Health) Dr Fayyaz Ranjha told The Express Tribune.
Dr Ranjha said that 11 new cases had been reported in the past few days and all public hospitals in the city had reserved 20-bed wards for dengue patients. He said that last year the number of dengue patients was 39. He said that the CDGL’s four day campaign of extensive rapid fog spray for the 150 union councils of the city was launched this past Sunday and would continue till Thursday. He said that the government nominated coordinators and the officers appointed by the district coordination officer are supervising the spray campaign.
Dr Ranjha said that dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever diseases, which are transmitted by mosquitoes, are not fatal diseases and are less dangerous than malaria. He said that according to the World Health Organization the fatality rate of dengue patients, if untreated, is 0.2 per cent.
He said that dengue mosquitoes breed in clean water and that is a huge difference from the malaria spreading mosquito. He said that civic awareness regarding dengue fever needs to improve.
“The water in household wares in kitchen and overhead reservoirs containing clean water are the main sources of infection” he added.
Dr Ranjha said that the citizens may contact the EDO health control room for fog spray in their areas. However, he said that other than spraying, larva killing activity has to be continued. He said that the mosquitoes in the streets and public places would be killed by the CDGL while the mosquitoes in bedrooms, kitchen, compounds and washrooms must be exterminated by the citizens on their initiative.
He said that the disease manifests as a sudden onset of fever along with headache and muscle and joint pains.
Special measures have been taken to control malaria fever in the flood-hit districts, said Punjab Health Secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad on Monday. The Provincial Epidemic Surveillance and Response Team visited the affected areas for the purpose. The medicines to cure malaria, Chloroquine and Primaquine tablets, have been supplied in sufficient quantity to the flood affected districts. Hassan said that the blood screening of the flood victims has also been conducted for detection of malaria. The Health Department medical teams have provided treatment facilities to over 2,010,000 flood victims, and 91 trucks of medicine have been supplied to the flooded districts. Mobile spray and fogging teams were also conducting anti mosquito spray in Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan, he added. Fawad directed the officers to take necessary steps to control malaria and dengue in these areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 12th, 2010.
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