Institute of Public Health (IPH) Lahore has so far conducted as many as 421 tests of dengue fever out of whom 153 were found positive while facility of such test was not available in any of the district or tehsil headquarter hospitals in the province except National Institute of Health Islamabad.
Punjab Health Director General, Dr Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry said this while addressing a news conference, here on Thursday. He maintained that as many as 65 cases were found positive in Rawalpindi district, three in Chakwal district, two each in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur districts and one in Multan.
As many as 11 cases of dengue fever were found positive in Services Hospital Lahore out of which eight were discharged after necessary medical treatment while three patients are still under treatment. Out of 24 positive cases admitted in Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore, 18 were discharged while six are under treatment.
Out of four patients in Jinnah Hospital Lahore, one was discharged while three are under treatment. Similarly, five patients of dengue fever were admitted in Mayo Hospital, Lahore and they are still under treatment.
He clarified that these figures are based of reports received from the public sector hospitals while the number of patients under treatment at the private sector hospitals is not known, he added.
It is pertinent to mention that the Mayo Hospital administration had intimated about death of one person due to dengue, but the Director General Health Punjab did not own even a single death because of this fever.
He said that there was no facility of conducting test of dengue fever in any of the district or tehsil headquarters hospitals. Such facility is either available at Institute of Public Health, Lahore or National Institute of Health, Islamabad.
To a query, Dr Aslam said that there was no vaccine of this fever in the world but treatment was available. About the spray, he maintained that neither spray at all places was possible nor feasible economically. Public Health Consultant, Dr Muhammad Saleem Rana apprised the newsmen on the occasion about the strategy to combat dengue fever. He claimed that the disease was on the declining trend and the number of patients was reducing gradually.