Rawalpindi declares ‘health emergency’ as dengue claims 6 lives

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has declared a health emergency in Rawalpindi to curb the spike in dengue cases amid fears of an outbreak of the disease.

The city has reported six deaths and a total of 1358 cases during the current season, out of which 1169 had been discharged after successful treatment, while 181 are under treatment in different hospitals.

The Cabinet Committee on Prevention of Dengue, Infectious Diseases and Disaster Management held a meeting in Lahore reviewed the dengue situation in the provincial capital, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad.

Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare Khawaja Salman Rafique and Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman presided over the meeting while Minister for Primary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir participated through a video link.

The cabinet committee directed that special attention should be given to the clinical management of dengue patients to minimise the mortality rate. It was decided that the technical group should determine the causes of deaths due to dengue and severity of the disease in patients receiving treatment.

The minister said that arrangements should be made for the treatment of dengue patients in private hospitals in case the public hospitals run out of space. He also issued instructions to start a special campaign to increase awareness about dengue.

Minister for Primary Healthcare Nazir said that an action plan should be prepared for the next month to control dengue. He said that the situation of dengue in Lahore was better due to efficient surveillance but there was a fear of an increase in cases in Rawalpindi.

The chief secretary directed that the capacity of government hospitals in Rawalpindi be increased for better treatment of dengue patients.

He said all necessary resources would be given for providing medicines and necessary facilities in public hospitals. He said that the availability of authentic data was very important for better planning.

Primary and Secondary Health Secretary Nadia Saqib and the deputy commissioner Rawalpindi gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. She claimed that 1724 confirmed cases of dengue and seven deaths had been reported in the province so far this year. Rawalpindi alone accounted for six deaths.

Rawalpindi deputy commissioner said that 29 private hospitals have been put on standby as an alternate arrangement in case of emergency. He added that 142 private clinics had been sealed for not reporting dengue patients.