Be ready, prevent dengue

It is said that prevention is better than cure. This is true in case of dengue which can be prevented if all preventive measures are taken with due care and attention. It is advisable that people must ensure that there is no standing water anywhere inside the house. In the same way, gardens and parks should also be kept clean. While residents are responsible for keeping their houses clean, the government must ensure that insecticide sprays are available at every town office so that areas are sprayed on a regular basis. Extra care should be taken after the rainfall, the drains should be cleaned so that the flow of rainwater is not disturbed.

The healthcare department of the country must conduct awareness programmes to educate people what steps are needed to be taken to stop the growth of mosquitoes. A nexus between citizens and health officials and the adoption of maximum preventive measures will certainly help in checking and controlling the dengue outbreak. Although dengue cannot be completely eliminated, the cases of dengue can be brought down by adopting preventive and curative measures to the maximum extent.

M Z Rifat (Lahore)