In a recent bid to provide diagnostic facilities to dengue patients and reduce the burden on government hospitals, the Punjab government partnered with Chughtai’s Laboratories to set up 10 blood testing centres in Lahore. Set up in all towns of Lahore, these centres would provide quick services to people and depending on their effectiveness, the number of centres would be increased across the provincial capital, Punjab Health Secretary Jahanzeb Khan said in a press briefing regarding the Punjab government dengue awareness and control programme on Monday.
He said teams from Sri Lanka would reach Lahore today (Tuesday) and a comprehensive dengue control programme would be finalised by the end of September to control the spread of the virus. Commenting on reports of substandard insecticides used for fumigation, he said the chemicals used were of WHO-approved quality. On the chief minister directives, the insecticides would now be imported, he added. Jahanzeb denied reports of non-availability of medical facilities in public hospitals and claimed that many hospitals, including Kot Khwaja Saeed Hospital and Sade Mitha Hospital had spare capacity. The secretary said since set-up of the dengue helpline, 5,000 calls had been received, adding that psychiatric services would be provided to dengue patients.
