EDITORIAL: With the advent of winter season, dengue a serious but preventable disease has erupted in epidemic proportions all across Punjab. As of Sunday, the total number of recorded dengue cases stood at a whopping 5, 041. These include four cases in Lahore two in Mandi Bahauddin, and one each in Faisalabad, Attock, Chiniot, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, and D G Khan. So far 12 people have died from it.
The worst affected district has been Rawalpindi which alone reported 4, 059 cases. This shows the district administration has not taken adequate and timely preventive measures. Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique, though, claimed last week that the number of cases had decreased due to the administration’s hard work. Till the temperature drops down 20C many more people are at risk of contracting dengue fever.
The provincial health department has said sufficient resources and medicine supplies across public sector hospital have been assured. Citizens seeking treatment, information, or wishing to file complaints can access the department’s free helpline - an appreciable effort, indeed.
District health officers have also been directed to ensure that private laboratories and health practitioners immediately refer suspected patients to hospitals and report the same to the relevant authorities. But as the old adage goes ‘prevention is better than cure.’
Pakistan has been experiencing dengue outbreaks since 2010 when 16, 580 confirmed cases were reported leading to 257 deaths. In Lahore 5000 people had battled with dengue infection, 60 of them died. The provincial government at the time, headed by Shahbaz Sharif, had responded by learning from the experience of Sri Lanka, and achieved significant success.
The World Health Organizing had also provided international consultants to advice on vector control strategy as well as clinical management of hospitalization of dengue cases. By now, all concerned are pretty familiar what needs to be done to stop the menace in its track.
Yet, so far no public awareness has been launched to inform people to observe necessary precautionary measures, such as keeping covered all water containers including plant pots since dengue mosquito lays its eggs in clean standing water that hatch into larvae.
Also identified as ideal breeding ground of dengue mosquito are discarded tyres as they tend to collect water. In Lahore, however, a Quick Response Force has been formed to inspect households, commercial markets as well as roads, streets and parks to destroy dengue larvae, and ensure cleanliness.
Rawalpindi administration seems to have acted rather belatedly. Lest the situation gets out of control, Punjab and other three provinces must make necessary interventions to stop the spread of dengue infections.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024