Lahore: A 14-year-old girl has been diagnosed with dengue virus in the Hanjarwal area. The affected girl is under treatment at the isolation ward of Jinnah Hospital. With one more dengue patient, the number of the dengue affected persons has jumped to six in Punjab’s provincial capital city.
Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar has directed all the deputy commissioners to spearhead the activities to eradicate dengue in their districts and hold review meetings on a regular basis.
On March 5, Deputy District Officer (DDO) Dr Zeeshan Zafar had said that the source of the outbreak could be the dengue larva which was found at four houses in Pirwadahi area, Rawalpindi.He had said that strict monitoring had been carried out at adjacent houses to eliminate the larvae breeding and that people stored water in open drums in Pirwadahi area which helped breeding of dengue.
The DDO added that standard operating procedures about anti-dengue were being implemented in letter and spirit and surveillance had been extended in Rawal Town area to control the threat of dengue.
However, as the situation exacerbates in Lahore, sources say that the deputy commissioner (DC) office Lahore and deputy district health officers (DDHOs) are engaged in a time-wasteful blame-game.
Sources say that heaps of garbage in major cities have caused the recent up rise in dengue larva and ultimately, dengue affected patients.
Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It starts out as intermittent fevers that graduate to thrombocytosis when untreated, sometimes leading to death. It affects millions of children and adults worldwide. The World Health Organization reports that even today, there is no definitive medical cure for the disease, but early detection is key to effective treatment.
In Pakistan dengue epidemic is a major public threat since 2005, four dengue serotypes are present in Pakistan and circulating whole year with peak outbreak between (September-November) during post monsoon periods. According to sources, the current epidemic has caused, to date, 71649 confirmed cases nationwide and 257 deaths in Lahore. Currently, millions are at risk.
