Dengue prevention: ‘Surveillance during Eid vital’
161 confirmed dengue patients reported this year
LAHORE:
Anti-dengue measures and surveillance during Eid holidays are vital to stop any outbreak, Health Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik said on Saturday.
He was chairing a meeting of Cabinet Committee for Dengue Control at civil secretariat.
“Last year, there was a sudden rise in dengue patients after Eidul Azha. Therefore, all the departments concerned should remain on alert and dengue surveillance activities must continue during Eid holidays. Negligence at this stage can cause huge problems later on,” Malik said.
He directed the local government department, city district governments and other agencies to ensure cleanliness in graveyards, parks and mosques to save people from mosquitoes during their Eid prayers and visits to graveyards.
DCO Capt (r) Muhammad Usman informed the meeting of dengue surveillance activities carried out by the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) at town and union council level. He said that no confirmed dengue patients had been reported in Lahore on October 3.
“However, large concentrations of dengue larvae are being reported during indoor surveillance from various areas of the city. Mostly the larvae are being detected in room coolers, water tanks and refrigerators,” Usman said.
The DCO said that during Eid holidays, targetted dengue surveillance and larvae-detection activities would continue.
“Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved Rs1,000 each as bonus for dengue staff who will work during Eid holidays,” he said.
Health Vector Borne Diseases Additional Director General Dr Islam Zafar informed the meeting that so far, 161 confirmed dengue patients had been reported during 2014.
“Whereas in 2013, 332 patients had been reported by October 4. Thirty-eight dengue patients have been reported from Lahore, 78 from Rawalpindi and 29 from Sheikhupura,” he said.
He said that at present four patients were admitted at Mayo Hospital in Lahore, 18 in Holy Family Hospital and 13 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi. The condition of all these patients is stable,” he said.
Punjab Assembly Members Pir Ashraf Rasool and Kiran Dar, the Sheikhupura health executive district officer and senior officers of Water and Sanitation Agency, the Solid Waste Management department, the Parks and Horticulture Authority, the Punjab Information Technology Board, and the Institute of Public Health attended the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2014.
Anti-dengue measures and surveillance during Eid holidays are vital to stop any outbreak, Health Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik said on Saturday.
He was chairing a meeting of Cabinet Committee for Dengue Control at civil secretariat.
“Last year, there was a sudden rise in dengue patients after Eidul Azha. Therefore, all the departments concerned should remain on alert and dengue surveillance activities must continue during Eid holidays. Negligence at this stage can cause huge problems later on,” Malik said.
He directed the local government department, city district governments and other agencies to ensure cleanliness in graveyards, parks and mosques to save people from mosquitoes during their Eid prayers and visits to graveyards.
DCO Capt (r) Muhammad Usman informed the meeting of dengue surveillance activities carried out by the City District Government Lahore (CDGL) at town and union council level. He said that no confirmed dengue patients had been reported in Lahore on October 3.
“However, large concentrations of dengue larvae are being reported during indoor surveillance from various areas of the city. Mostly the larvae are being detected in room coolers, water tanks and refrigerators,” Usman said.
The DCO said that during Eid holidays, targetted dengue surveillance and larvae-detection activities would continue.
“Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved Rs1,000 each as bonus for dengue staff who will work during Eid holidays,” he said.
Health Vector Borne Diseases Additional Director General Dr Islam Zafar informed the meeting that so far, 161 confirmed dengue patients had been reported during 2014.
“Whereas in 2013, 332 patients had been reported by October 4. Thirty-eight dengue patients have been reported from Lahore, 78 from Rawalpindi and 29 from Sheikhupura,” he said.
He said that at present four patients were admitted at Mayo Hospital in Lahore, 18 in Holy Family Hospital and 13 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi. The condition of all these patients is stable,” he said.
Punjab Assembly Members Pir Ashraf Rasool and Kiran Dar, the Sheikhupura health executive district officer and senior officers of Water and Sanitation Agency, the Solid Waste Management department, the Parks and Horticulture Authority, the Punjab Information Technology Board, and the Institute of Public Health attended the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2014.