Another five people succumbed to the dengue virus on Monday while another 368 tested positive with 342 cases reported in Lahore alone. The total number of people afflicted with the disease has risen to 11,000, of which more than 90 percent belong to Lahore. Currently, 316 patients are under treatment in various hospitals in the city.Punjab Health Special Secretary Dawood Muhammad Khan told reporters that the institute of public health’s capacity-building for vector control and surveillance of dengue virus was being enhanced so that the fever could be eradicated effectively in the coming years.
To a question, he said the Sri Lankan government and its high commissioner had assured the Pakistan government that the exchange of delegations of medical experts would continue. He denied that there was a shortage of platelets in Lahore’s teaching hospitals, saying that mega cell separator machines had been provided to the hospitals. “However, 50 cell separator machines are also being imported by air on an emergency basis,” he said. He said the shortcomings in the arrangements of IRS and fogging of dengue patients in houses had been removed and fogger machines and spray pumps had been provided to each UC.
He said a request was also being made to the Punjab chief minister for more ventilators.
Emergency response committees of all towns also carried out dengue awareness campaigns in their respective towns.
A team from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also arrived in Pakistan which will formulate a strategy to deal with the rapidly spreading dengue virus.
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate General Health Services released fresh facts and figures regarding the virus in the province.
According to the latest report, 296 suspected cases had so far been reported, of which 136 had been confirmed.
Seventy-seven patients were still admitted to the hospitals while 213 patients were discharged after necessary treatment, it said, adding that six deaths had been reported in the province so far. According to the report, 53 patients had travel links with Punjab.
Intensive care wards and fever clinics had been set up an all districts of the province to cope with the fever.