LAHORE: Punjab government has registered more than 45 dengue cases, the provincial health department said Wednesday.
The authorities said out of 44 dengue patients, 13 are from Lahore, three each from Gujarat and Vehari, two each from Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Kasur, while seven had travel history from other provinces, and one from Islamabad.
In a bid to control the disease, the health department has directed authorities to make Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in hospitals operational and hire 10,929 health workers on a contractual basis.
The Sunday weekly holiday of the health workers working in the anti-dengue campaign has also been cancelled, the health department said.
The health department said 44 cases of dengue had been reported this year, compared to nine reported across the province by the end of May last year.
Earlier, more than 533 suspected patients of dengue fever were reported in Punjab in a single day. The patients after tests were declared healthy and were allowed to leave for their homes.
Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmeen Rashid earlier said that the provincial government was taking all-out measures to cope with the menace of dengue fever.
“The ratio of dengue cases have substantially been reduced due to the efforts made by the district authorities and other concerned departments,” she said.
She directed to carry out effective measures for preventing the growth of dengue larva. The minister said that dengue patients were being provided with the best medical facilities at public sector hospitals.
In the first month of the year, a total of 74 dengue-positive cases emerged in Sindh province, out of the 64 were confirmed from Karachi and 10 from other districts so far, according to PCPD data.
