November 24, 2006	Friday	Ziqa'ad 2, 1427

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LAHORE, Nov 23: The Punjab government has established an Epidemic Control and Investigation Cell (ECIC) to deal with the outbreak of epidemics throughout the province.

The decision has reportedly been taken after the government’s failure to take measures prior to outbreak of dengue fever.

At present, the communicable diseases programme (CDP) in the province is responsible for maintaining the data on such diseases, which is reportedly completely inactive.

Sources in the health department told this reporter on Thursday that the government had issued a list of some 17 diseases to all executive district officers (health) and heads of all hospitals in the public sector, with directions to submit a comprehensive report whenever a case related to any of these ailments was reported in there respective jurisdiction.

The list includes dengue fever, malaria, gastroenteritis, cholera, severe acute respiratory syndrome (sars), polio and measles.

“On receiving such information, the ECIC will investigate the matter and conduct a survey in the area concerned, and then submit its recommendations to the provincial government to adopt a strategy to cope with the situation,” the sources said.

They pointed out that owing to lack of such mechanism, the government could not forestall the recent outbreak of dengue fever and gastroenteritis in the past in different parts of the province.

They said that such cell was functioning at the federal level, but its need here was never felt before. “Unless the government has a clear picture of an epidemic in any part of the province it can’t take concrete measures to control it.”

The ECIC will be headed by Additional Director Dr Irshadul Haq Usmani and comprises 20 members.

The sources said the government had directed the EDOs and heads of the public hospitals to make arrangements to deal with possible outbreak of bird flue next month. “Bird flue is pandemic in the world and there are chances that it will arrive here.”

It is learnt that the government has also asked the health authorities to prepare a PC-I regarding the establishment of a laboratory of international standard so that all types of tests could be conducted here.

Meanwhile, the health authorities confirmed 22 dengue fever cases in the city during the last three days, raising the number of dengue cases in Lahore to 188. Some 19 of them have been admitted to different private and public hospitals.