Elimination of dengue is among top priorities of the Punjab government: Kh Salman

Lahore: Advisor to Chief Minister Punjab on Health, Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that elimination of dengue is among top priorities of the Punjab government and all resources will be utilized for the success of war against dengue. He said that a campaign will be launched for elimination of dengue in Multan on the pattern of Lahore and Rawalpindi. He said that tyre shops and other places becoming the cause of spread of dengue will be registered and anti-dengue app will be launched for monitoring.

He stated this while addressing a meeting at Commissioner Office. On the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister, Senior Member Board of Revenue Nadeem Ashraf and Secretary Food Punjab Pervaiz Akbar especially participated in the meeting. Commissioner Multan Division Capt. (R) Asad Ullah Khan, DCO Zahid Saleem Gondal, CPO Azhar Akram, Principal Nishter Medical College Prof. Dr. Kamran Salik, MS Nishter Hospital Dr. Ashiq Malik, EDO Health Dr. Iftikhar Qureshi and officers of Environment Department, TMOs, WASA, PHA, Solid Waste Management and Agriculture Department were also present on the occasion.

Kh. Salman Rafique said that there is no need to fear of dengue rather an effective strategy is required to cope with it. He said that we will have to take practical measures instead of paper work. He said that teams working for eradication of dengue in houses will have to be effectively monitored in order to eliminate dengue larva and mosquito within the affected places and will not be allowed to spread to other areas. He said that those places should be registered with the name of hotspot which can become the cause of spread of dengue and they should be linked with anti-dengue app software programme.

Similarly, verification of surveillance of this place will automatically appear through android mobile and if surveillance of concerned hotspot could not be carried out within one week then the app will automatically detect it. He said that surveillance of the places checked by Health Department should be conducted by entomologist of Agriculture Department as third party.

He said that provincial government will provide manpower and all out resources for strengthening of anti-dengue teams. He said that TMAs, Environment, Solid Waste Management and other concerned departments should arrange android mobile sets for monitoring of surveillance of different areas in order to avoid lip-service. Commissioner Multan Division also gave a briefing on this occasion.