ISLAMABAD: With the threat of dengue looming large over the country due to changing weather conditions, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has advised the provinces to start preparations to combat the mosquito-borne deadly disease.

At the same time, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research at a meeting on Tuesday reviewed the situation of bird flu in the country, and directed the provinces to increase surveillance activities and send samples to the National Reference Laboratory.

Director General (Health) Dr Baseer Khan Achakzai has stressed that all required staff, screening and testing facilities must be made available along with medicines and other required needs for dengue treatment and prevention.

Provinces have been directed to start arrangements for the handling of the dengue outbreak.

Dengue spreads by mosquito bite and patients face deficiency of platelets due to which transfusion of platelets is required as a patient’s blood does not have the normal clotting ability.

Surveillance increased in view of bird flu threat

Pakistan has experienced many dengue outbreaks since the first outbreak was observed in 1994.

In 2019, the dengue outbreak set all time new record as during the year over 50,000 cases were reported and as many as 79 people lost their lives.

Bird flu

Meanwhile, at a meeting held on Tuesday, the Ministry of National Food Security and Research revie­wed the situation of bird flu influenza, though no case has been reported from across the country so far.

During the meeting, the provinces were directed to increase surveillance activities and send samples to the National Reference Laboratory.

Though the disease has yet not been reported from any part of the country, vaccination campaign for bird flu was carried out as a preventive measure, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Mohammad Akram informed the meeting, which was chaired by Secretary National Food Security and Research Zafar Hassan.

The secretary asked the animal husbandry commissioner to seek input from the provinces on the ‘Contingency Plan for Bird Flu’.

The federal government will finalize the plan and share it with the provinces for implementation soon.

A report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN says that with the introduction of H1N1 (swine flu) in Pakistan since 2009, and the continuous circulation of H9N2 serotypes in poultry and wild birds, the possibility of re-emergence of new variants of avian influenza viruses remains very high.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2023