The dengue that won’t leave us alone

The tall claims of the Punjab government turned sour as the dengue larvae have been found from various towns of the provincial metropolitan.
The Punjab government, its Health Department and the district machinery have been claiming that all measures have been taken and no larvae of dengue mosquito has been found from across the province. Millions of rupees were spent on spraying, awareness and preventing dengue last year so that its return could be stopped this year. A monitoring system was also devised to trace the larvae at the grass root level. Across the province, thousands of workers have been hired for this purpose because contrary to the general perception, dengue is not confined to Lahore alone and there were cases reported in other districts as well.
Senior health officials have been claiming that the preventive system was so strong that no dengue case would appear this year. They even claimed that when larvae will be found, it could be termed a “failure” of the entire machinery up for stopping the outbreak of dengue. However, in a meeting chaired by dengue incharge Khwaja Salman Rafique it was revealed that dengue larvae has been found in different towns of Lahore. However, talking to Pakistan Today, Rafique said it was a comment on the strict surveillance which was being done be the government. He said it was a part of the preventive campaign because when aedes is found the team immediately removes it on the spot. He further said all methods including mechanical, IRS and fogging were being employed. “Fogging is the last priority because it includes chemicals and hence other methods are preferred to remove dengue…it will look bad if the government out rightly denies the presence of larvae…accepting the presence of larvae means the government will remove it and hence no new dengue patient should appear,” he added.
DENGUE REMAINS THE
CONTINUES TO FEATURE IN SCHOOLS, COLLEGES: Government Islamia College Railway arranged a lecture to create awareness about dengue fever while a large number of students and teachers were present on the occasion.
The lecture was organised by Principal Amjad Ali Shakir while this programme was held in accordance with directive of CM Punjab for spreading awareness about dengue virus. Rafique was the chief guest on this occasion, who in his address briefed the students and teachers about the plans and efforts of government to curb dengue.
KINNAIRD GETS ITS BASICS RIGHT: Kinnaird College for Women also organised an awareness lecture on Dengue prevention in collaboration with Chief Minister’s Special Team on Dengue Awareness in Hladia Hall here on Monday. Dr Shahid Mehmood from Department of Community Medicine of Services, Institute of Medical Sciences, was the guest speaker at the occasion.
The programme began with the recitation of Holy Quran. Mehmood elaborated the history, risk areas, and symptoms of dengue virus. He emphasised that lifestyles needed to be changed to cope with the epidemic “Dengue is a vital infection and 40 percent of world population are living in areas where there is a danger of dengue,” he said, also suggesting precautionary measures to avoid this disease such as removing extra water from plants and gutter caps and using repellent before going outside the house. The gardeners of Kinnaird College were specially invited to attend this lecture. “This is the first time we were invited to a lecture and this is very useful for us,” said Ali Amtiaz, a gardener. KC Principal Dr Rukhsana David thanked the guest speaker Dr shahid Mehmood and Dr Saleema Bashir for conducting this seminar. She also presented a token of appreciation to Dr Shahid Mehmood.