Out of 224,000 houses and 13,000 open spots inspected during January this year, dengue larva were traced at only six places. – Image by Syed Salahuddin Qadri

LAHORE, Feb 19: Out of 224,000 houses and 13,000 open spots inspected during January this year, dengue larva were traced at only six places, Lahore district coordination officer told the media on Sunday.

DCO Ahad Cheema said 13,800 outdoor spots and 0.2 million houses had also been inspected in February and the process would continue. He said lady health workers and 26 spray men were continuing their work and three supervisors would remain present in each union council during the high-risk months.

Special assistant to Punjab chief minister on health Khawaja Salman Rafique, who also addressed the press conference, said the administrative machinery in the province had been fully alerted to dengue challenge.

Talking about the provincial government’s strategy on dengue control, he said in view of last year’s experience, preventive measures had been taken against a possible outbreak this year.

Health special secretary Dawood Muhammad Khan, Chief Minister’s Dengue Research Programme Head Dr Wasim Akram, health additional secretary Yawar Hussain and other senior officers were also present on the occasion.

Mr Rafique said besides setting up dengue control cell, special measures had been taken in 13 districts of the province, including fogging, training of staff and provision of related equipment for doctors and paramedical staff. Necessary arrangements had also been made in all hospitals to handle dengue cases, he added.

He said master trainers who had trained in Thailand and Sri Lanka imparted special training to doctors and paramedical staff of district and tehsil headquarters hospitals of the province while provision of necessary medicines certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) had also been ensured.

Mr Rafique said the chief minister was personally heading the central committee on dengue whereas Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa and chief secretary were holding weekly meetings of cabinet committee and provincial implementation committee to review the measures against dengue.

Similarly, he said, the control room set up at the health director general’s office was monitoring the situation.

Mr Rafique further said special arrangements had been made for fogging and vector control in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi.

He said the media and community could play an important role in preventing dengue outbreak. He said abundant funds had been made available for dengue control and it was expected that the impact of the disease this year would be minimum.

Dawood Khan said technical and medical facilities were available in all hospitals against dengue and a comprehensive protocol would be implemented this year in the province to fight the disease.

Yawar Hussain said abundant stock of medicines was available with all hospitals to fight dengue.

Dr Waseem Akram said research had been started on the breeding and growth of dengue larvae.

Others who addressed the press conference stressed upon the media to play a positive role in controlling dengue.

Training: Doctors from six districts of Punjab were imparted training in handling dengue patients and taking precaution against the viral disease at the Lahore General Hospital.

According to a handout issued on Sunday, the doctors who were imparted training by specialists belonged to Attock, Bahawalnagar, DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Chakwal and Bhakkar districts.

Prof Dr Shoaib Randhawa, Assistant Prof Imran Hassan Khan and Dr Sheraz Anjam were among the trainers.

Post Graduate Medical Institute (PGMI) Principal Prof Dr Tariq Salahudin said because of last year’s experiences and the steps taken by the Punjab government against the dengue, it was hoped that the disease would not cause as much damage as it did in 2011.

He said what the local experts had learnt from Thailand model about curbing dengue would also be very helpful in better disease control this year.

Dr Randhawa said it was high time to get fully prepared against dengue, urging the government to launch a vigorous awareness campaign promptly as the disease could be considerably curtailed through prevention.