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Dengue fever hits Pakistan's Punjab province
Pakistan's eastern Punjab province is in the grip of a dengue epidemic with dozens of cases being reported daily at various hospitals across the province, said officials and hospital sources.
The total dengue fever cases in the Punjab are 1,419 since the beginning of this year, out of which 1,358 Dengue patients had recovered and been discharged from hospitals, according to local media. Gravity of the dengue disease was felt at the central level and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani extended full support to the Punjab government in coping with the growing number of cases of dengue fever. The Prime Minister, who was in Lahore on Friday, directed his Principal Secretary to contact the Punjab government and assist them in taking necessary preventive measures against the Dengue fever. He also asked him to extend offer on behalf of the federal government for provision of any technical expertise to the Punjab government. Acting on reports that the virus was spreading rapidly and that measures to control it had been unsuccessful, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has presided over series of meetings and ordered the immediate suspension of the Lahore district health officer for failing to control the epidemic. A task force comprising a government minister, health officials and doctors has been set up to review the situation and suggest measures to curb the virus. On the orders of the chief minister, giant advertisements on measures that can be taken to prevent dengue have appeared in the media. Posted by: Steve White 2011-09-04 |
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