PESHAWAR: An emergency meeting held here on Friday decided to mobilise 12 teams each to conduct fumigation, ensure cleanliness and take other measures to control dengue spread in Peshawar, Charsadda, Khyber and Nowshera districts.

The meeting chaired by Peshawar division commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud was called on the directives of Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

The deputy commissioners of the four districts gave a detailed briefing on the current dengue situation in their respective regions.

The meeting also cancelled the weekly holidays of the employees of Water Supply and Sanitation Company Peshawar, Health Malaria Control Programme and other agencies concerned.

It constituted four teams for carrying out spray and cleanliness at 19 sensitive places in Peshawar.

The commissioner instructed the officers to form a WhatsApp group in each district to effectively communicate and coordinate to curb the spread of the disease. He said the deputy commissioners would hold meetings in the evening to evaluate the daily performance of the teams and duly inform him about the emerging situation in their respective districts.

After the meeting, Mr Mehsud visited Achini area on the outskirts of Peshawar, which has severely been affected by dengue. He was accompanied by Peshawar district health officer and additional deputy commissioner Gul Bano.

The commissioner set up two medical camps in the area. He ordered taking tests of the entire population and immediate transfer of patients to hospitals.

Meanwhile, the administration of Khyber Teaching Hospital on Friday said 26 dengue patients were admitted to the facility. The patients included seven women and 19 men.

It said most of the patients belonged to Tehkal, Academy Town, Sufaid Dheri, Danishabad and Sarband areas of the Peshawar district.

The KTH administration said during the last 24 hours the hospital had conducted 1,437 tests for dengue virus, of which 158 were positive. It said all the dengue patients were being kept at the medical ward of the hospital.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2021