Three dengue patients die at HFH

Aamir Yasin Published October 17, 2019

The district administration has pasted stickers on the gates of houses and commercial sites where dengue mosquitoes or larvae are found. Under the Punjab government’s standard operating procedures, three teams work in every area. The first checks for dengue larvae or adult mosquitoes and marks the sticker if they are found at the site, the second sprays inside the house to eliminate the mosquito and remove larvae and the third checks if the surveillance and fumigation have been carried out and reports its findings to the administration and provincial government. — Text by the writer

RAWALPINDI: Three dengue patients died at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) on Wednesday.

However, fewer dengue cases have been reported in the three government run hospitals during the last 24 hours.

Ansa Fatima, 60, from Adiala Road, was brought to HFH on Oct 14 with dengue symptoms and died late on Tuesday night. Shahid, 40, from Morgah New Abadi and Sajid from Wahdat Colony, Adiala Road, died on Wednesday.

Fewer patients reported in three government-run hospitals in last 24 hours

A senior doctor from HFH confirmed to Dawn that three patients died of dengue.

Meanwhile, Commissioner retired Capt Saqib Zafar on Wednesday gave a briefing on the anti-dengue campaign to the provincial cabinet committee through video link.

He said the number of dengue patients has decreased in three government-run hospitals and in private hospitals.

The meeting was informed that 226 new patients including 114 from Rawalpindi landed in three government run hospitals while 302 patients were discharged during the last 24 hours.

At present, 734 dengue patients are being treated in the hospitals.

The commissioner said that the district administration was taking action against the building owners where dengue larvae was repeatedly found and in this regard 2,670 notices were issued, 1,082 commercial sites sealed, 125 FIRs lodged and 99 people arrested under the Dengue Act.

He said 11 filter clinics had been set up in the city to reduce the burden on three government-run hospitals where 17,679 patients were checked and 557 dengue patients referred to hospitals from 18 sensitive union councils.

An anti-dengue campaign was launched in all the union councils where employees weekly holidays had been cancelled so that fumigation could be carried out in and around houses where dengue patients had been reported in the government-run hospitals.

He said that after the drop in temperature, the number of patients had decreased but there was a dire need to continue the campaign until the end of November.

“The field staff visited door-to-door to check dengue mosquitoes so that the people could be saved from the virus. The health department focused on the areas which had already been declared sensitive as most of the patients arrived from that area,” he said.

Section 144 enforced

The district magistrate on Wednesday enforced section 144 in the federal capital to deal with the outbreak of dengue virus.

Section 144 prohibits unhygienic conditions in and around any premises, buildings, houses by any person in the federal capital to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.

Additional District Magistrate Waseem Ahmed Khan in exercise of powers prohibited any kind of unhygienic conditions in and around any premises, buildings, houses by any person in the federal capital.

Household owners or administrator of premises will be responsible for keeping the premises clean. This order shall come into force with immediate effect and shall remain in force for a period of two months.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2019

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