LAHORE:
Punjab health authorities have failed to contain dengue in the province as the number of patients continues to rise.
Official figures show that 223 new dengue cases have been confirmed across the province in the past 24 hours. Dengue wards of government hospitals showed a steady record of patients.
The worst situation was faced in Lahore, 95 patients were confirmed in hospitals. The spread of the disease is at its peak in Punjab with the concerned authorities unable to overcome the problem.
Health officials had earlier claimed that the number of dengue patients would decrease after the onset of winter, but the number continues to rise with 223 cases confirmed by the surveillance wing of the primary and secondary health care department.
According to officials, the number of fresh patients was high in almost all major districts, including Gujarnwala, Sheikhupura, Multan and Faisalabad.
The department recorded 95 dengue patients in Lahore, 37 in Multan, 28 in Gujranwala, 20 in Faisalabad and 18 in Gujranwala.
As many as 12,268 dengue cases have been confirmed in Punjab during this year. Lahore has recorded the highest number of patients during the year with 5,412, followed by 2,533 in Rawalpindi, 1,215 in Multan, 1,200 in Gujranwala, 653 in Faisalabad and 193 in Sheikhupura district.
However, the fever caused by the bite of the dengue mosquito had spread to almost every region, causing a rush of patients to outpatient clinics and dengue wards of hospitals.
Reading: 181 new cases of dengue fever were reported
A health official told The Express Tribune that it was obvious that the concerned agencies had failed to prevent the spread of dengue fever in the province.
He claimed that those responsible for the situation were misleading the government as well as the citizens.
He also said there had been mismanagement at the local administration level to ensure fumigation, claiming that spraying had not been carried out in a number of dengue hotspots.
He claimed that the anti-dengue teams had performed poorly during the current year, resulting in the current situation.
The official said the pressure to deal with the situation is now being faced by hospitals that were already struggling to treat patients with smog-related illnesses.
He expressed fears that the number of patients in the dengue wards may increase in the coming days, adding that the government should take action against it.
“There are 173 dengue patients admitted to hospitals in Punjab, of which 80 are in Lahore,” announced Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Minister Ali Jan Khan.
He urged citizens to focus on maintaining cleanliness in their premises and cooperate with anti-dengue teams.
He said citizens could also help create awareness about dengue fever while being informed by a helpline run by the government for the purpose.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 17u2023.
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