Advisor to the Chief Minister Punjab on Health Khawaja Salman Rfique has said that Dengue is a disease and a social problem also, therefore, people should play their active role in the anti dengue activities by cleaning their houses and removing dengue breeding spots in and around their premises. He said that on the direction of Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, all the government departments and the officers are fully alert and a vigorous indoor and outdoor dengue surveillance is being carried out in the sensitive districts.
He stated this, while talking to the media after leading an awareness walk on dengue organized by the Punjab Health department to observe Anti Dengue Day, at DGHS office, here today. He said that all the concerned departments are taking anti dengue measures according to the SOPs and dengue control activities are being carried out across the province. He said that last year dengue outbreak was witnessed only in Rawalpindi and few hundred cases were also reported in Multan but rest of the province including Lahore were normal. Kh. Salman Rafique revealed that all the concerned departments are fully prepared and actively doing their duties in connection with the dengue control and hopefully dengue situation would be under control during the current year. He disclosed that during current year 6 dengue patients ,two from Malaysia, one from Saudi Arabia, one each from Attock and Rawalpindi and one from Hub, Baluchistan were reported. He informed that all the six patients are stable.
Khawaja Salman Rafique appealed the masses to start an anti dengue drive and remove junkyard, old tyres, discarded articles and disposable plastic bottles and avoid storage of water in these articles which may become dengue breeding hot spots. He observed that government departments and civil society’s collective efforts are essential to overcome this issue.