PESHAWAR: Director-General Health Services Dr Mohammad Saleem Khan has called upon people to adhere to preventive measures as the number of people affected by Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reached 1,002 by recording 98 new cases during the last 24 hours.

“We have further escalated control activities at all levels as the enforcement of comprehensive Dengue Action Plan 2024 is now entering its next phase under which collaboration with all relevant line departments is being accelerated to ensure management of patients and scale up public awareness regarding the vector-borne ailment,” he said.

He said that anti-dengue efforts were in progress across the province with special focus on the hard-hit areas including Peshawar, Kohat, Nowshera, Abbottabad and Mansehra to control spread of the infection.

“We have deployed special teams that are conducting dengue spray operations during dawn and dusk, the peak times for mosquito activity. In addition, public awareness campaigns have been intensified throughout the province,” he said. He added that elimination of larvae had also been the main issue due to which fumigation and awareness to educate people were in progress.

Peshawar, Kohat, Nowshera, Abbottabad and Mansehra are worst-hit districts

Dr Saleem said that more cases were detected owing to the best surveillance system under which each suspected patients was screened and confirmed ones were isolated. He said that health department had enough resources to provide free testing and treatment facilities to patients and all hospitals had already dedicated isolation beds to infected people.

“Effective surveillance systems have been established to monitor dengue trends and identify hotspots, ensuring timely diagnosis and control measures in hospitals. In case of symptoms, people should visit hospitals instead of clinics run by unqualified medical practitioners, especially in rural settings,” he said.

The director general health said that they devised coordinated strategy to contain the viral disease, but people should also take into account the situation and take protective measures including avoidance of storing water in uncovered pots as those served as breeding spots for mosquitoes.

He said that the measures taken by health department were paying off as the disease had caused only two mortalities in the current year so far but efforts would continue because rainwater was still a big issue in most of the districts.

He said that the number of active cases in the province was 390, with just 21 patients admitted to hospitals. “We have isolated all the patients because they can be source of transmitting the virus to others,” he added.

Dr Saleem said that all necessary facilities were available in hospitals where trained staff was managing cases and 612 patients had fully recovered so far. “Timely treatment is being ensured to prevent any complications from the disease. Less mortality is result of the department’s strategy,” he claimed.

He said that Peshawar, the capital of the province, had been traditionally reporting dengue cases and in the current year it recorded 286 infections, the highest number reported by any district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Abbottabad is another worst hit district with 121 cases. “There will be no letup in anti-dengue operations, especially during the current month to save situation from snowballing into major public health issue,” he said.

Dr Saleem said that their teams were visiting the hotspot areas in all endemic districts where people were educated about prevention of mosquitoes’ bites and causes of the infection. “In all districts, our staff works in collaboration with other department to make sure that the ailment remains under control and people are not infected,” he added.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2024