Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Saeed Elahi addressed an awareness seminar regarding the dengue virus at the Government College for Girls on Wednesday.
He said that awareness was the most effective weapon to eliminate dengue from society, and students could play an active role in creating awareness by using preventive measures against the disease. He said the government had developed a comprehensive strategy to control dengue and expressed the hope that the year 2012 would not see the virus take the form of an epidemic.
On this occasion, a consultant from Mayo Hospital, Dr Sobia Iqtedar, delivered a comprehensive lecture to students and apprised them of the preventive measures against the virus. She stressed the need to ensure cleanliness inside houses and proper disposal of solid waste. She informed students that source reduction was most important to curb mosquito breeding.
Punjab Director General Health Dr Zahid Pervaiz said the breeding places of dengue mosquitoes should be mechanically eliminated and stagnant water must be disposed of to ensure that dengue larvae could not survive. He said that chemical methods should only be used as a last resort because it was not environment and human-friendly.
