Experts review dengue situation in capital

Islamabad: Six teams of sanitary inspectors and malaria supervisors, and 136 teams of Lady Health Workers (LHWs) have been tasked with implementation of the Action Plan for Dengue Control in Islamabad, participants of a meeting convened here on Thursday were informed.

The meeting, which was held on the directions of the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza, was chaired by Secretary Health Dr. Allah Bakhsh Malik. The meeting was also attended by Director General Health, heads of major hospitals of Islamabad, District Health Officers of Islamabad Capital Territory, CDA and related health institutions.

During a review of the situation, it was learnt that implementation of the action plan on dengue control is in full swing, with some of the key actions including identification and destruction of mosquito breeding sites, covering of open drinking water containers, removal of tyres, shoppers, plastic bottles and other waste materials from rooftops, and drainage of water from room coolers and trays of refrigerators. District Health Officer ICT Dr. Najeeb Durrani and Dr. Iqbal Afridi from CDA’s Health Directorate briefed the participants about the measures being taken for the prevention and control of Dengue Fever in Islamabad.

Cases of Dengue Fever are being reported by all major hospitals in Islamabad on a daily basis, whereas daily meetings of ADHO with field staff are also being held. As many as 714 hotspots for Dengue in ICT and 2,206 hotspots under the CDA’s jurisdiction are being given special attention. These include junkyards, tyre-shops, water bodies, etc. In addition, a public awareness drive has been launched to educate residents on the prevention of dengue.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Health expressed the importance of working in close coordination to effectively address the challenge. He spoke about high level of commitment amongst stakeholders.