Minister orders urgent steps to check dengue

LAHORE:Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said emergency measures should be taken to control increasing graph of dengue in Rawalpindi, keeping in mind the experiences of the past years.

He said this while chairing dengue situation review meeting at the deputy commissioner's office. Prof Dr Waseem Akram, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Hasan Waqar Cheema, CEO Health, Rawalpindi, and other relevant officials were present in the meeting.

Khawaja Salman said the highest number of dengue patients in Punjab this year was being reported from Rawalpindi, which was an alarming situation. He said this year 230 dengue patients were reported in Lahore, while the number of dengue patients in Rawalpindi reached 1,934.

The reasons due to which the dengue virus is spreading so much should also be examined and the shortcomings should be identified, he added. The minister said dengue hotspots should be continuously monitored and effective measures should be taken. There has been a substantial increase in FIRs, arrests and fines by the district administration of Rawalpindi against violators of dengue SOPs compared to previous years, but despite this, increase in the graph of dengue is noticeable. He said that there should be close cooperation with the administration of Islamabad and a common plan of action should be adopted.