Committee formed to prevent outbreak of dengue fever

Islamabad

Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry Tuesday constituted a committee that has been tasked to control the outbreak of dengue fever.

The committee will coordinate with all the relevant wings and departments and will take necessary steps for efficient management of waste disposal sites, which are a breeding ground for dengue larvae in the urban as well as rural outskirts of the city alike. The committee comprises officials from the district governments of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and CADD itself.

The committee was formed during a meeting chaired by Dr. Tariq and attended by Islamabad Mayor Sheikh Ansar, district administration of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and representatives of CDA.

The minister praised the Punjab government for implementing an effective dengue control system, which has yielded positive results in severely infected areas. He said, the same model is being implemented in Islamabad, and the results are self-evident as no loss of life has been reported in the city this year. “Dengue fever patients being brought to hospitals in Islamabad are mostly from suburban areas and adjoining districts of Islamabad,” he maintained.

The meeting was informed that an outdoor and indoor preventive policy for dengue control is being pursued in the city. Out-door monitoring teams visit the sites and manually and chemically destroy the larvae and their reproductive culture. Chemicals sprayed at the site are approved and authorized by the World Health Organisation; they have ‘mine effect’ as the mosquito dies instantly as soon as it lands on the sprayed area. Three hundred Lady Health Workers are working to destroy suspected in-door dengue breeding sites wherever such a site is reported.

“Whenever a dengue fever case is reported at a certain place, 48 houses around the infected house and the nearby streets are sprayed with anti-dengue chemicals which effectively destroy the dengue breeding mosquitoes at the larval stage,” the meeting was told.

CDA officials informed that preemptive measures have been taken to curb the spread of Congo virus in the makeshift markets of sacrificial animals set up for Eidul Azha. A permanent camp of medical experts has been set up at the market to monitor the situation and provide preventive sprays.