ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: The National Institute of Health (NIH) has decided to call a follow-up meeting this month to review measures so far taken to minimize pollen concentration in the federal capital before the advent of spring.

The executive director of the NIH, Dr Athar Saeed Dil, told Dawn that though the date to review measures had not yet been finalized, the meeting would be held within a fortnight in which all stakeholders, including the representatives of the CDA’s environment department and members of the two major hospitals of Islamabad would attend.

Dr Athar Dil said the scheduled meeting was a follow-up of a recently held meeting in which pre-epidemic strategy was finalized. During the meeting, the CDA was asked to trim the branches of the male paper mulberry tree which sheds millions of “Catkin pollens” in the air that cause allergy.

The pollen allergy in the month of spring and fall had become a chronic problem in Islamabad as a large number of people suffered from asthma, allergic rhinitis and other allergic symptoms. Even deaths have been reported due to severe allergy attacks. Estimates suggested that Pims alone received 250 to 300 allergy patients in the last spring season.