LAHORE: Dengue cases continue to rise in Punjab as 42 more patients tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. Of them, 28 were reported in Lahore.

The total number of dengue cases has reached 805 in Punjab in the ongoing season.

Education Minister and Anti-Dengue Cabinet Committee Chairman Rana Mashhood claimed the news regarding dengue outbreak in Lahore and other areas of Punjab was “absolutely false” and the media should not create panic among the masses.

Talking to the media at the Directorate General Public Relations, Punjab, he said the number of dengue patients in Karachi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had increased due to change of weather and unexpected rains, which had also affected Punjab.

Health Minister Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Information and Culture Secretary Momin Agha, Punjab Public Relations Director General Amjad Husain, Health Additional Secretary (Technical) Dr Anwar Janjua and Director General Health Dr Zafar Ikram were also present on the occasion.

Tahir Sandhu said the Punjab government had constituted a board of senior doctors to ascertain the real cause of death of two patients from dengue in Lahore.

He said 1,000 lady health workers had been assigned to the anti-dengue program to make it more active. He said 803 suspected dengue patients had been reported in Punjab since January out of which only 79 had tested positive.

He said the cabinet committee in its meeting had decided that special teams comprising public representatives and imams of mosques would go door to door to create awareness regarding protection against dengue.

Conference: A four-day annual conference on ‘the role of the pharmacist in health system strengthening’ will start at the Pearl Continental on The Mall on Wednesday (today).

Organised by the Pakistan Pharmacists Association (PPA), the conference will be presided over by Federal Health Minister Saira Afzal Tarar.

Kabul (Afghanistan) Health Director General Sheikh Akhtar Husain will also attend the conference besides senior office bearers of the PPA and other prominent medial and health experts.

PPA senior official Noor Mahar said the first scientific session would be held under the chairmanship of Trudi Hilton, chief pharmacist, UK.

He said the foreign delegations from about eight countries were participating to make the conference a scientific forum.

He said more than 2,000 people, including doctors and pharmacists, had got them registered to participate in this event.