‘Dengue mosquitoes breed in houses’

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Sunday that steps were being taken on war footing to cope with the dengue epidemic and a coordinated strategy had been devised for this purpose. He appealed to all segments of the society to join the movement for the elimination of dengue. He said that the efforts of the government could not be fruitful unless every citizen cooperated with the government.
He was addressing a seminar held to discuss measures to eradicate dengue virus sponsored by the Health Department at a local hotel. Sri Lankan medical expects, secretary health, principals of teaching hospitals, chief executives, professors, physicians, experts and a large number of doctors attended the seminar.
Addressing the seminar, Shahbaz Sharif said that only those nations could succeed in the world that faced crises with courage. He said that the Pakistani nation was hardworking and capable and our doctors were considered the best doctors of the world and that we would meet the challenge that the epidemic had posed on our society bravely. He said it was the responsibility of the medical community to instill people with hope in this situation and tell them that dengue virus was a curable disease and provide them with proper guidance in this regard. Shahbaz said that the Punjab government was taking all possible steps for the eradication of the dengue epidemic and all resources had been allocated for this purpose. He thanked the president, the government and the people of Sri Lanka for standing with us in this hour of trial and sent a team comprising the best medical experts for our assistance. The CM said that Sri Lanka had been facing dengue epidemic during the last three decades and more than 35,000 people were affected due to dengue in Sri Lanka in 2009 and more than 350 deaths had occurred. He said that Sri Lanka had successfully overcome the epidemic. He said that the medical team of Sri Lanka was working with the health department and the experiences of these experts were highly beneficial for the Pakistani context. Shahbaz said we would overcome this challenge through collective efforts, cooperation of the people and consultation of the experts. He said that a vigorous campaign regarding preventive measures and saving people from dengue was in action and besides pamphlets, CDs containing preventive measures would also be distributed among the people. The CM said that the dengue mosquitoes mostly bred in houses and every citizen would have to come forward for making the campaign of the government a success and would have to take preventive steps in their households in order to fight the menace. Dr Friendo, a member of the medical team of Sri Lanka addressed the audience and briefed them about his experiences and about the treatment of dengue fever. Members of the team also gave satisfactory answers to the questions put forth by the doctors.