Seasonal hike: Dengue control plan awaits govt approval

Experts claim preventive measures must be taken soon to avert an epidemic in coming months.

ISLAMABAD: With the dengue season just around the corner, a three-year, Rs59 million prevention plan has been awaiting the final nod from the government for the past three months.

Talking to The Express Tribune, a senior Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) official, who wished not to be named, said a three-year plan submitted last December is awaiting approval from the Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP).

He said a Rs39.5 million PSDP plan — Prime Minister’s Initiative for Management of Dengue Fever — effectively concluded in June last year. Efforts, he added were now being made to further extend the plan for three years.

The official noted that disease prevention and control measures had already been taken by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration, using allocations from their respective budgets.

Hospitals have been provided all necessary medication for the treatment of dengue fever patients, said the official.

“Since CADD has been dissolved, once the plan is approved, it will be forwarded to the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination,” said the official.

Dengue fever cases

Over 30 dengue cases have been reported across the country this year, according to the documents available with The Express Tribune.

While commenting on the cases reported so far this year, Dr Muhammad Saleem Rana, a vector control expert, expressed concern at the number of cases surfacing during the low season for dengue fever.

He said these cases are a wake-up call for the government to seriously start working on prevention and control strategies to avoid an outbreak in the coming season.

Dr Rana explained that the dengue season usually began from mid-March, but due to changing climatic conditions, this year it will probably start around mid-April.

“While analysing the current situation, it seems there are chances of a dengue fever outbreak in the country if early preventive measures are not taken on time,” he said.

According to the documents, 20,899 cases of dengue were reported last year, killing 222. An increasing trend has been seen in the number of dengue fever cases reported nationwide since 2012.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 2^nd, 2015.