On Wednesday 4 April, Forman Christian College’s Senior Biological Society hosted a talk on “Dengue: infection, protection and prevention” in the Pervaiz Ellahi Building auditorium. The guest speakers were, Chief Social Mobiliser and Team Leader for Social Mobilisation and Dengue Awareness, Shaista Pervaiz, and Head of R&D in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat Prof Dr Waseem Akram. Rector FCC, Dr Peter H Armacost, Dr Kauser Abdulla Malik, Dr Leslie Johnson and Dr Natasha Anwar from the Department of Biological Sciences FCC were also present on the occasion. The talk was attended by about 100 students.
Shaista spoke on social mobilisation of communities to control the spread of dengue mosquitoes. She said that over 100 countries in the world had dengue mosquito infestations, but they contain them through community involvement. It was essential that volunteers work in their communities to raise awareness and ensure that basic steps are carried out to keep their homes and neighbourhoods clean and free from stagnant water. She concluded her address by requesting for community volunteers, to which a large number of students responded. She also handed a checklist by which volunteers could score the safety levels of their homes and environment. Dr Akram’s speech on understanding the dengue vector explained the differences between malarial and dengue mosquitoes. An important difference was the dengue mosquito’s ability to breed on dry, moist and wet surfaces. He described its breeding places and times of activity. He also said the Government of Punjab was moving away from purely chemical techniques towards more intra-sectoral programmes, creating greater public awareness and using environment-friendly approaches.
