RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Punjab additional chief secretary has warned that no slackness in anti-dengue activities from any government department will be tolerated and urged his provincial departments, including the Higher Education Department, to intensify dengue fighting in and outside Rawalpindi.

The warning came from Syed Mubashar Raza who chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Dengue on Monday which also drew in Members of the Punjab Assembly Pir Ashraf Rasool and Lubna Faisal, senior officers of the concerned departments, the health director general, the city commissioners and district coordination officers of Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala, Lahore and Sheikhupura, the chief minister’s Dengue Research Cell in-charge and officers of the Pakistan Information Technology Board, Meteorological Department and Special Branch.

In the meeting General Dengue Control Additional Director Doctor Islam Zafar then presented a review of the dengue in the Punjab, claiming that after the recent monsoon rains, during the peak dengue season 12 confirmed dengue patients had so far been reported in the Punjab though in Sindh there were over 840, in Baluchistan 34, with a few patients in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dr Zafar told his audience he had coordinated with the Motorway Police deputy inspector general on the case of disposal of empty plastic bottles and other articles on the sides of motorway by travellers, which would be potential breeding spots.

In his speech, Lahore District Coordination Officer Muhammad Usman said, “Strict dengue surveillance is being conducted in Lahore where the dengue larva is detected in houses in a large numbers. But analysis reports of the Institute of Public Health say the reported dengue larva is hardly infected and that the reports are negative.”

Following his short speech, all the commissioners and other officers talked about the dengue tackling progress on indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance, cemetery monitoring, junkyards, tyre shops and other sensitive places by their departments. Sheikhupura’s district coordination officer then wanted a refresher course for his dengue staff from the Punjab Information Technology Board.

There was in addition an order from Additional Chief Secretary Syed Mubashar Raza telling the commissioners, district coordination officers and other officers to accelerate the anti-dengue fighting and also Health Director General Doctor Zahid Pervaiz to evolve a foolproof mechanism and coordinate with general practitioners and private doctors to obtain complete data of those suspected-and-confirmed patients.