LAHORE: Spike in dengue cases in the provincial capital has set alarm bells ringing.

The data shows that 223 people contracted dengue virus in Punjab during the last 24 hours (Thursday) including 167 in Lahore.

A day earlier, the number of the positive cases was 136 in Punjab -- 103 of them in the provincial capital.

Other than the official figures, there are reports that the health authorities have failed to show the actual disease burden which is higher than what is being reported daily. Health practitioners in private and public-sector hospitals claim that dengue has hit Lahore hard and most cases go unreported.

The official data shows the dengue cases are on the rise also in Rawalpindi which reported 35 cases of the virus during the last 24 hours (Thursday) which a day earlier were 17, showing a 100 per cent surge.

Lahore bears the brunt of the virus

In Punjab the total number of the positive cases of the virus has reached 1,659 and 1,347 have been reported in Lahore alone.

A health official said the Punjab government seemed non-serious to stop fast transmission of dengue because of the tardy work to destroy the breeding grounds of mosquitoes spreading virus. He said that owing to recent rains, water has accumulated alongside the roads and at green belts, government offices and private buildings. The teams formed for the purpose, he said, were visiting very few places to check breeding of larvae.

Thousands of health teams would go from door to door to check and destroy larvae during the previous government under the regulations formed at that time to get rid of the epidemic, he said. Former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif undertook unprecedented measures to combat the epidemic, said the official who had previously served in the Shehbaz Sharif-led government.

Recalling the steps the government had taken in this direction, he said officials drafted and issued special standard operating procedures (SOPs) for dengue control -- Prevention & Control of Dengue -- by appointing designated staff which was trained at home and abroad.

Mr Sharif presided over nearly 90 meetings being chief minister of Punjab and dengue cells comprising public health experts were formed besides constituting the teams of the police and district government officials to conduct raids to book those violating the dengue SOPs or guidelines. The official said hundreds of cases were lodged by the Punjab police daily.

Information technology programmes were run to collect data of reported cases of the dengue virus besides the reports to destroy larvae from across the province on a daily basis. The government also invited Sri Lankan experts to seek their help, said the official.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2021