Anti-dengue activities should be continued during Eid holidays: Khawaja Salman Rafique

Lahore: Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq has directed that anti-dengue activities should be continued during Eid holidays. He said that in view of the visit of the people to graveyards in a large number for offering fateha on Eid, special attention should be paid to the cleanliness. He said that due to the effective steps for eradication of dengue by all departments, only seven confirmed dengue patients have been reported in the province during the current year.

He said this while presiding over a meeting of Cabinet Committee for Anti-dengue. Assembly members Pir Ashraf, Ch. Akram, Nawaz Chauhan, Majid Zahoor, Secretary Health Dr. Ijaz Munir, Commissioner Lahore Rashid Mahmood Langrial, Secretaries of Labour, Environment, Schools Education, Forests, Higher Education, Information, Auqaf, Agriculture, Social Welfare, Local Government and Irrigation Departments, senior officers of other departments, DCOs Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, representatives of District Governments of Sheikhupura, EDOs Health, officers of Police and Special Branch attended the meeting. Senior officers gave briefings about the indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance activities carried out by their respective departments in houses, tyre shops, factories, nurseries, under-construction places, junkyards and graveyards. Kh. Salman Rafique directed that dengue surveillance should be carried out vigorously in those towns and union councils where larva was not reported. He said that special attention should be paid to the specific towns of Lahore and Rawalpindi city.

Kh. Salman Rafique said that the chances of dengue breeding enhance with the start of rains, therefore, attention should be paid to the elimination of hot spot of dengue larva. He told that instead of taking staff from various departments, separate staff will be recruited in Lahore for eradication of dengue in future so that dengue surveillance activities could be carried out effectively. He said that approval will be sought from the Chief Minister in this regard.

Secretary Health Dr. Ijaz Munir told that a vigorous campaign will be launched against dengue through print and electronic media from July to November. He further told that arrangements for treatment of dengue patients are complete in government hospitals and HDU has also been made functional. However, at present there is no dengue patient in the hospitals. He told that training has been provided to the doctors of private hospitals and general practitioners by Dengue Expert Advisory Group regarding case management.