Health Minister warns of dengue outbreak in Lahore
RAWALPINDI: Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Health, Dr Yasmeen Rashid has advised the public to take all possible precautionary measures as the number of dengue cases were increasing in the province with each passing day.
“The highest risk of dengue in the province is in Lahore,” the provincial minister said in a statement issued on Saturday. She said that evidence of dengue larvae has been found in 71,000 households and rainfall increases the threat of dengue larvae spread.
At least 181 cases of dengue were reported from across Punjab during the last 24 hours and of these 131 cases were reported from Lahore alone,” the provincial minister confirmed adding that separate counters have been set up at government hospitals for dengue patients.
Meanwhile, 501 confirmed dengue fever cases have been reported so far in the district out of which 423 were discharged after recovery while 78 patients having positive results were admitted in Allied hospitals of the city.
The first death of the current year from dengue fever was reported from Abbottabad on Friday. According to the health department, a woman from Mansehra died of the ailment at the hospital. According to a report, 178 new cases of dengue fever were reported from the province during the last 24 hours.
It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Minister for Disaster Management Mian Khalid Mehmood had on Friday directed the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) to ensure early preparations for controlling the spread of dengue.
Presiding over a review meeting of the PDMA’s measures to prevent dengue, he said that the current weather conditions could lead to an increase in dengue fever and the period from mid-September to early December after the monsoon was typically favourable for dengue.
“We must take precautionary measures against dengue during these times and ensure control over all stimuli that may lead to an increase in dengue growth,” Mehmood added.
