In last three months, as many as 299 suspected cases of dengue have been reported throughout the Punjab out of which only five have so far been confirmed. This was revealed in a seminar arranged by Punjab Health Department (PHD) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (Who) on "Prevention and Control of Dengue" at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Thursday.
The Punjab health department's additional director general Dr Jaffar Ilyas said on the occasion that an effective vector surveillance system had been launched in Lahore and so far more than 34,000 points had been checked to find out the larvae of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito responsible for the spread of dengue. He added that eggs and larvae were found from only 46 points. Dr Paba, the head of Sri Lankan team that is visiting Lahore these days, said that the arrangements made by the Punjab government for dengue prevention and control were highly satisfactory and hoped that the dengue situation would be under control in coming months.
Dr Paba further said that it is heartening to note that Punjab government had introduced a chapter in the syllabi for grade five to grade twelve classes regarding protection from dengue virus and preventive measures against the deadly disease. UHS vice-chancellor Professor I.A. Naveed said that with the help of the Sri Lankan experts, local doctors, health officials and dengue experts had sufficiently enhanced their knowledge and clinical experience during the last one year, which would surely help eradicate the disease.
He added that the worst ever epidemic of dengue last year was countered in a most organised manner because of the combined efforts of doctors, experts, politicians and bureaucrats. Professor Naveed also lauded the role of media in pointing out various issues due to which concerned government departments improved their arrangements for combating this challenge.
The chief social mobilise of Punjab government, Shaista Pervaiz Malik said that dengue was now more of a social issue than a disease. She said that volunteers were being registered from school, colleges and universities and so far more than 10,000 people had been registered, which would go door to door to create awareness among masses with regards to prevention and control of dengue.
The Director General Health Punjab, Dr Nisar Ahmed Cheema said that media should act in more responsible manner while reporting dengue cases. He also emphasised the need to improve the training of nurses in order to better manage the dengue patients in hospitals.
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