After gastro, the threat of a dengue outbreak is looming following the heavy downpour across the country. The alarm bells already rang as health officials in Rawalpindi detected a large number of dengue mosquito larvae at 16,000 different locations — 15,601 houses and 1,000 other localities — during indoor and outdoor surveillance campaigns. This is indeed an alarming revelation that could lead to a deadly outbreak in the near future.
It is believed that these dengue larvae have been breeding on a large scale during the ongoing monsoon season that saw many places inundated with water. Where there is stagnant water, dengue mosquitoes are bound to increase in number and become a health threat.
The district has been carrying out anti-dengue campaigns but unfortunately, implementation has been lacking as 99 locations were left out and fake activities were recorded in 377 locations. Officials have taken timely action by registering FIRs, sealing buildings, issuing challans and enforcing dengue SOPs but a systematic action plan must be carried out to destroy breeding grounds before these larvae mature.
The ordeal also indicates the importance of draining rainwater in a timely manner. But with many provinces across Pakistan witnessing unprecedented levels of rain, dengue could very well escalate into a national health crisis. This merits attention from the very top.
Surveillance campaigns must be carried out across flood affected areas to identify and destroy breeding grounds. Urban cities must issue dengue SOPs and work towards draining the remaining water left in affected localities. The authorities must take the situation of gastro outbreak and the expected dengue outbreak that can turn the situation worst in the country, which is already facing deadly Covid virus.
