July 20, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 16, 1429

LAHORE, July 19: All hospitals will maintain data of gastroenteritis patients with home address while medical superintendents or focal persons will collect data from different wards and OPD and send a report to the additional secretary health (tech) and DH (CDC) through fax every day at 9am.

This was decided at a health department meeting held here on Saturday under the chairmanship of the health services director-general to review gastroenteritis situation in the city and province.

The Director Health (CDC), Bacteriologist Punjab, medical superintendents of teaching hospitals of Lahore, the EDO (Health), public health specialists from WHO and other medical specialists concerned attended the meeting.

The meeting has taken various decisions to adopt preventive measures in addition to providing treatment to patients to combat the present situation of gastro.

Stools of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) patients will be tested from hospital’s pathology laboratory to detect the causative organism. A sample for detection of strains shall be sent to bacteriologists as well.

Similarly, the MS will ensure isolation of AWD patients from gastroenteritis patients to avoid transmission of disease within hospital. He will also make certain regular disinfection measures in the hospital.

Likewise, the EDO (Health), Lahore, will coordinate with the DH (CDC) and collect the report before 10am daily.

The EDO will also prepare the geographical mapping of all cases and send teams in the affected area to conduct epidemiological study for source of drinking water, waste disposal, possibility of mixing of drinking water and sewerage pipelines, the hygienic conditions of areas.

He will also distribute ORS in the affected localities, conduct health education sessions through pamphlets and mosque announcements regarding washing of hands before food intake and after defecation, drinking boiled water, using water purification tablets for chlorination of water.

The EDO will also collect the water sample and send it to the bacteriologist for testing.

He will also arrange cleaning of water tank and chlorination of water supply resources/water supply schemes through the agencies responsible for these schemes -- Wasa, Public Health Engineering Department and TMAs.

The Children’s Hospital’s representative presented the previous weeks' data and informed the participants that the same number of patients was received in his hospital during these dates in previous years which showed that it was a seasonal rise and not an epidemic.

The Health Services director-general, Punjab, also directed to submit daily report about any dengue fever case reported to hospitals and also adopt preventive measures like previous years to keep this disease under control.