Incurable virus: Committee constituted to preempt ebola

Cheema stresses need for coordinated action to overcome the challenge.

LAHORE:

Chief Secretary Naveed Akram Cheema on Thursday ordered the constitution of a committee to prevent instances of ebola virus in Pakistan.

He was chairing a meeting convened at the Civil Secretariat to review the situation in this regard and determine measures needed to prevent the virus especially in the Punjab. Cheema stressed the need to ensure effective coordination between the federal and the provincial government to pre-empt the virus’s entry in Pakistan.  He directed officials to constitute a special committee in this regard.



Cheema said it was imperative for the federal government, the provincial government and the Civil Aviation Authority to work together to prevent the virus from entering Pakistan. He said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had issued special instructions in this regard and additional funds would be allocated for the effort if the need arose.

The chief secretary directed the officials to formulate a standard operating procedure with the assistance of the federal government to deal with ebola patients. He also directed them to ensure that the guidelines of the WHO and medical experts were stringently adhered to. Cheema said the army should be contacted to obtain its guidelines regarding the virus too.

Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique, Health Secretary Javed Rafique Malik, Health Services Director General Zahid Pervaiz and several other officials were also present on the occasion. Malik said an isolation intensive care unit had been reserved for possible ebola patients at the Services Hospital. He said 15 protective dresses provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) had been given to the staff manning the ward. Malik said the organisation would provide additional dresses by December.

He said an ambulance had been stationed at Allama Iqbal International Airport to immediately take suspected ebola patients to quarantine. Allama Iqbal International Airport Manager Rashid Muhammad Hassan said a quarantine facility had been established at the airport.

Pervaiz said health services officials had been trained at workshops organised by the WHO in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan. Jamshed Ahmed of the WHO said international passengers with a history of travel in Africa would be kept under observation.

Rafique stressed the need to formulate a permanent strategy to prevent ebola with input from the Health Department, the WHO and the National Institute of Health. He said officials from the federal government should also be included in the committee being constituted on the chief secretary’s directive.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2014.