The federal government is going launch a three-year Rs 265.7 million anti-dengue plan in 25 districts of the country to check the outbreak of the viral disease.
Main components of the plan include institutionalization, advocacy, social mobilization and communication, vector control and surveillance, disease management, surveillance, research and development. According to an official source, the government had already taken several steps to prevent the dengue epidemic, which included setting up a provincial task force, a provincial steering committee, district implementation committees and the Dengue Research and Development (R&D) Cell to carry out applied and operations research on the virus.
The official said that in Pakistan, the outbreak of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) was first reported in Karachi in 1994, followed by outbreaks in 2005, 2008, and most recently in 2011. Though the disease spread in all the provinces, but Punjab is the most affected because heavy monsoon rains provide ideal conditions for dengue-bearing mosquitoes to thrive in stagnant water.
The official said that emphasis has been placed on utilizing the latest technology for combatting the dengue epidemics. A system has been developed for online dengue cases surveillance, with Global Positioning System (GPS) mapping of cases, vector, and digital monitoring of dengue prevention and control activities, he added. He said all the teaching hospitals have set up isolation wards and high dependency units with all facilities to take care of the dengue patients. On the average 200 extra beds have been specified for the dengue patients in each teaching hospital. About 10,000 bed nets treated with insecticides have been provided to each hospital for dengue isolation wards, he added. For the arrangements of platelets, cell separator machines with platelet kits are made available on an urgent basis at the different hospitals, he said. The government also provided finances to the provinces for purchase of larvicides, insecticides, spray machines, foggers, and social mobilization activities.
Environmental management measures have also been taken, including proper disposal of waste water, de-silting operations, supply of safe water, time repair of leaks in plumbing systems, use of water filters, management and regulation of used tyres, and cleanliness drives in eateries. Around 21,292 confirmed cases of dengue were reported in Punjab in 2011, 352 of them were fatal.
