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RAWALPINDI, Oct 28 (APP):The District Health Authority Rawalpindi has intensified its surveillance and control measures against dengue, recording 32 fresh confirmed cases over the past day, bringing the year’s total to 1,264, officials said on Tuesday.
In an exclusive talk with the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Health Rawalpindi, Dr. Ehsan Ghani highlighted the latest figures, emphasizing the authority’s proactive stance amid the ongoing vector surveillance drive.
“Our teams are working round-the-clock to curb the spread, with zero fatalities reported this year which is a testament to our precise interventions and community cooperation,” Dr. Ghani said.
To a question he maintained that weekend was proved to be more favourable for cases uprising as compared to that of running days, however vigilance remains key, especially with the post-monsoon season.
He told APP that the data released by DHA also includes statistical information received from various private testing labs and hospitals.
“Across the district, hospitals screened 19,504 suspected patients since so far, with only 35 confirmed cases currently admitted for treatment”, he said.
The authority has deployed 1,359 dedicated teams that have inspected over 6 million households and above 1.7 million spots.
These operations uncovered 193,179 positive households and 26,598 contaminated spots, leading to the destruction of 219,777 larvae.
“This robust surveillance has been crucial in breaking the transmission cycle which has resulted in reduced cases this year as compared to that of previous year,” Dr. Ghani added.
Taking actions against dengue SOPs, 4,682 FIRs have been registered, 1,886 premises sealed, 3,620 challans issued, and fines totaling Rs 11,166,507.0 imposed.
The 32 new cases in the last 24 hours were distributed across various union councils (UCs) and towns/tehsils, with hotspots identified in urban and peri-urban areas.
Dr. Ghani urged residents to eliminate stagnant water sources, use mosquito repellents and report potential breeding sites via helpline 1166.
“Public awareness campaigns and fogging operations will continue, but individual responsibility is our strongest weapon against dengue,” he said.
Recently, DHA has dismissed a number of dengue surveillance staff found negligent in discharging their responsibilities.
“After a thorough inquiry conducted by top ranking officials, 16 regular employees have been dismissed from their services as a major penalty against their professional negligence”, he informed and added that contracts of 360 daily wager employees were also terminated in the same case.
Dr Ehsan Ghani said that the staff gap was immediately filled by hiring fresh staff to keep the campaign uninterrupted.