RAWALPINDI: The District Health Authority found dengue larvae in 226 houses and 16 commercial outlets in the cantonment and city areas during the last one week.

This information was shared with participants of a meeting held to review the anti-dengue drive with Additional Deputy Commissioner Saima Younas in the chair.

From May 7 to May 13, as many as 331 teams visited 63,537 houses in cantonment and city areas and found dengue larvae in 226 houses.

Moreover, 258 teams visited 45,688 commercial outlets and found dengue larvae in 16 places. The teams conducted fumigation and destroyed the dengue larvae. Health experts said the drive should be sped up before the start of the monsoon when more rains are expected. During rainy days, the dengue larvae might increase and it is necessary to pay attention on low-lying areas, especially along Leh Nullah and other drains.

The additional deputy commissioner directed the civic bodies to ensure cleanliness in the city and cantonment areas so the dengue mosquitoes could not breed there.

She said there was a dire need to launch joint efforts to eliminate the chances of spread of dengue virus in the district. She said the civic bodies would create awareness among the citizens about cleanliness of their environment.

She said hospitals would be informed about efforts for healthcare facilities. Fumigation in hospitals should be conducted as soon as possible to eliminate dengue mosquitoes.

She said under-construction buildings should be checked thoroughly as dengue larvae are mostly found in such premises. She said markets and mosques should also be included in the visit of the health department teams so these premises could also be protected against the dengue mosquitoes.

The meeting decided that before the start of monsoon all union councils would be cleared of dengue larvae. The civic bodies were asked not to leave water standing in streets in case of rains.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2019