LAHORE - Advisor to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Kh Salman Rafique has said that 2014 will be a more challenging year with regard to dengue and the officers and the staff of the concerned departments will have to work with greater determination to control this menace.
He expressed these views while awarding commendatory certificates to the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff of Lahore General Hospital over their excellent performance towards the treatment of dengue patients and promotion of public awareness against this disease.
Kh. Salman Rafique said that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and his team are determined to eliminate dengue. He said that dengue disease has becoming more complicated with the passage of time and many forms of this virus have surfaced.
Therefore, he said that maximum attention will have to be paid towards growth of dengue mosquito. He said that prevention against dengue is highly important to reduce the rush of patients in hospitals and the government, media, experts and general public will have to made collective efforts for this purpose.
Kh Salman informed that surveillance and larvaeciding activities for controlling dengue will be started from February 15 in accordance with the SOPs. He said that training programmes have been started for the capacity building of doctors, nurses and concerned officials and the challenge of dengue would be countered through collective efforts.
Earlier, Principal PGMI/Amir-ud-Din Medical College Prof. Anjum Habib Vohra while highlighting the performance of Lahore General Hospital regarding the treatment of dengue patients in 2013 informed that all dengue patients coming to LGH in 2013 fully recovered and no death occurred in the hospital.
He said that besides training of doctors of six districts and LGH, workshops and seminars were also arranged at the hospital for promoting public awareness. He announced one month salary as honorarium for the hospital staff showing outstanding performance. Faculty members of PGMI as well as doctors and nurses were present in large numbers on this occasion.
Later, Kh Salman awarded commendatory certificates to doctors, nurses and paramedical staff.