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Thursday March 28, 2024

‘Well-equipped hospitals, properly trained staff can tackle dengue cases better’

By Muhammad Qasim
October 05, 2018

Rawalpindi: To avoid deaths and complications due to dengue fever, the most important thing is to understand and follow proper management of the infection and if we equip the public sector healthcare facilities well and train the healthcare service providers serving in them properly on management of dengue fever, the infection may not be able to claim any life in Pakistan.

Dengue fever is a preventable and curable disease though proper preventive measures are needed to be taken to avoid its incidence and the most important thing in this regard is that all the stakeholders both in public and private sectors along with individuals should work religiously for the cause particularly in the peak season for transmission of the infection that has already set in.

Experts expressed in a special health seminar titled ‘Guidelines for Dengue Management’ organised by Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) in collaboration with Mir Khalil-ur-Rehman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers) here in a local hotel on Thursday.

Commissioner Rawalpindi Captain (r) Saif Anjum presided over the seminar while Chief Operating Officer PHC Dr. Muhammad Ajmal Khan was the chief guest on the occasion. Professor Muhammad Khurram from Rawalpindi Medical University was the keynote speaker at the seminar.

Among other guests were Additional Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Saima Younas, Director Clinical Governance PHC Dr. Mushtaq Ahmed along with Dr. Asif Salahuddin from Academy of Family Physicians, Rawalpindi.

Senior Editor Health Care Education from MKRMS Wasif Nagi initiated the proceedings of the seminar and introduced the guest speakers to the audience. Dr. Sajjad from the office of CEO District Health Authority Rawalpindi presented detailed annual data about the dengue fever patients presented to public sector healthcare facilities in Rawalpindi division in last six years along with analysis of the dengue fever outbreaks, the population in this region of the country has been facing since 2013.

Dr. Ajmal while talking to the audience said unfortunately, Rawalpindi has been hit by dengue fever outbreaks repeatedly for many years but now the situation has improved and within last two years, the outbreaks of the infection were not much intense in Rawalpindi.

He said the purpose of the seminar is to update knowledge of general practitioners on latest guidelines for dengue fever management which have been prepared by the PHC. There exists a law on referral of patients suspected to have contracted dengue fever and general practitioners should be aware of it as after suspecting a patient for dengue fever, a GP should refer the patient to a public sector healthcare facility properly equipped for the purpose. The best service providers on dengue fever management are tertiary care hospitals in the province and the best option for GPs is to refer dengue fever suspects to public sector healthcare facilities, said the PHC chief.

Professor Khurram delivered a detailed lecture on technical aspects of dengue fever and on clinical management of the infection. He said the disease has been known to mankind for not less than 2,000 years though the first reported epidemic of the infection occurred in 1944.

He added that annually 50 million people contract the infection that claims an estimated 22,000 lives per year. He provided details to the audience from life cycle of dengue fever vector, the aedes mosquitoes to incidence of primary and secondary infection and details about treatment and management of dengue fever patients.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Saima Younas said that everyone as a human, as a professional, as a community member an as a national should play the maximum role for prevention and control of dengue fever particularly in the peak season of dengue fever transmission. Speaking on the occasion, Commissioner Rawalpindi appreciated the role of PHC terming the Commission a hope for improvement of the healthcare services in the Punjab province.