RAWALPINDI: As dengue cases during the ongoing season touch 272, the Punjab interim health minister has asked the Islamabad and Rawalpindi administrations to carry out joint anti-dengue activities in the border areas of the twin cities every other day to weed out the larvae.

The minister said such a practice would not leave room for ambiguity of jurisdiction. He stated this while presiding over a meeting to review the anti-dengue drive along with Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha. The meeting was attended by Station Commander Brigadier Salman Nazar, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Dr Hasan Waqar Cheema, Islamabad District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia, and heads of other departments.

The caretaker minister said it was the peak season for dengue “so we need to work on war-footing arrangements”. He further said that the polio campaign was also starting on Monday, but the health department should ensure that the focus on polio does not affect the anti-dengue activities. He said the officials could get more staff from the allied departments if required.

He said that the cleanliness of all the graveyards in Rawalpindi has been outsourced and the contractor will not be paid until the Rawalpindi Development Authority inspected the site and gave a third-party validation of the work done on the graveyard and Nullah Leh.

Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chatha said that 19 private hospitals were directed to establish special dengue wards. He directed the health commission to visit these hospitals to ensure the presence of these wards and issue notices to the hospitals that are negligent in compliance.

He directed that all departments should continue anti-dengue operations and ensure strict implementation of SOPs. He said that houses, offices and surroundings should be kept clean and stagnant water should not be allowed anywhere as it was the most conducive place for dengue spread. He said that grass and trees should be trimmed in educational institutions and clean water should not be allowed to stand anywhere.

On this occasion, the District Health Authority officials gave a briefing on the current situation of dengue and said that so far 272 dengue patients have been reported, of which 232 have been discharged after successful treatment. There are currently 40 confirmed dengue patients under treatment in Rawalpindi hospitals.

They further informed that the health department teams were continuing indoor and outdoor operations on a daily basis. Since January 1, more than 4.6 million houses have been checked in Rawalpindi and dengue larvae were found in 29,797 houses. Similarly, more than 1.8 million outdoor spots were checked and dengue larvae were found in 5,463 spots.

They said that strict action was taken to hold accountable those who did not adopt dengue SOPs. In the last 24 hours, 43 FIRs, five challans, and three buildings were sealed over dengue SOPs violations and a fine of Rs61,000 was imposed on violators.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2023