Special Assistant to Chief Minister for Health, Khawaja Salman Rafique, has said that due to effective and consolidated efforts of the concerned departments and active participation of the community in dengue prevention and control campaign, the overall situation of dengue is very much under control. He directed all provincial departments to pursue vector surveillance and larvaeciding campaign and special attention should be paid to controlling dengue in the monsoon season.
He was presiding over a meeting for reviewing the steps taken by various departments for prevention of dengue, here today. Besides elected representatives, secretaries of concerned departments, Commissioner Lahore and other senior officers attended the meeting and gave briefing regarding the measures taken by their respective departments for dengue control.
The meeting was informed that dengue awareness campaign was in progress in the province and seminars were being held at school and college level. Moreover, the subject regarding dengue was also being taught to students in educational institutions and questions were asked about dengue from the students through class tests. The meeting was informed that more than 7500 volunteers had been registered till now for door to door dengue awareness campaign and checking dengue larva and 1500 blood donors had also been registered for donating blood to the dengue patients at the time of need. The training of doctors and paramedical staff by dengue expert advisory group was going on in the hospitals and process of training in treatment of patients to the private doctors and nurses had also been completed.
Salman directed WASA and Irrigation department to complete the desilting of drains and sewerage lines before the commencement of monsoon season so that the growth of dengue could be checked. He said that vector surveillance, larvaeciding, monitoring of tyre shops, removal of solid waste and disposal of stagnant water should be continued without interruption. Special Branch officers pointed out unsatisfactory cleanliness conditions and accumulation of water in the premises of some educational institutions and hospitals of the city upon which Salman directed to send letters of displeasure to the heads of these hospitals and educational institutions and warned that action would be taken if the situation did not improve.
