RAWALPINDI: The Special Branch of the police has suggested provincial authorities initiate departmental

action against anti-dengue teams, including entomologists who were recruited to assist teams in eliminating dengue mosquitoes, as more people are coming in with dengue to allied hospitals.

Though the district administration had claimed that the dengue virus will not spread like the previous years due to the efforts they were making, the Special Branch’s report suggests there are serious loopholes in the efforts and that the poor performance of anti-dengue teams has led to the increase in patients.

The report compiled after a survey of various areas of the Rawalpindi division was sent to the provincial authorities and the divisional commissioner.

It pointed out the unsatisfactory working of special anti-dengue teams during peak dengue season which ended Dec 1.

Dengue patients were discharged before their fevers had subsided to cover for inadequate campaign, report says

The Special Branch teams pointed to many areas which can be breeding sites for dengue mosquitoes such as tyre shops, factories, warehouses, under construction buildings, water ponds, service stations, nurseries, water tankers, and unkempt grass where dengue mosquitoes were also seen. They took photographs of these sites and also sent them to the concerned authorities.

It says that with the increase of dengue patients in hospitals, the concerned authorities started indoor residual spraying in an effort to hide their inefficiency and poor performance.

A comprehensive report on the growth of dengue mosquitoes with reference to its peak season was also sent to the authorities concerned every month but this exercise also proved to be unproductive, the report says.

Strict action was suggested against anti-dengue teams including doctors.

The report also says that dengue patients who come to hospitals in Rawalpindi are discharged within a couple of days even though they still have fevers.

It alleges that this is done to cover the poor performance of anti-dengue teams and so that fewer dengue patients are seen admitted in hospitals.

It says no public awareness campaign against the increase in dengue mosquito larvae were launched on electronic or print media and suggests putting a red mark on the houses the inmates of which refuse to cooperate with anti-dengue teams and that legal action should also be initiated against them.

A doctor at Holy Family Hospital told Dawn that the number of dengue patients has decreased since Dec 1.

“Now we only have one or two cases reported in the hospital,” he said.

District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Khalid Mehmood told Dawn that efforts had been made to eradicate dengue from Rawalpindi and that the virus was now not as widespread due to the change in weather.

When asked about the number of patients, he said the hospitals of Rawalpindi have roughly received the same number of dengue patients this year as last year.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2018