LAHORE - A high level meeting to review the present situation of gastroenteritis in the province was held under the chairmanship of director general health services Punjab here on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Director Health (CDC), Bacteriologist Punjab, Medical Superintendents (MS) of teaching hospitals of Lahore, EDO (Health), WHO health specialists and other concerned medical specialists. The meeting took various decisions to adopt preventive measures, providing treatment to the patients reporting to the hospitals in order to combat the prevailing gastro. It was decided that hospitals would record and maintain the data of patients of gastroenteritis with their physical addresses. Afterwards, every medical superintendent of the hospital would collect the data and send a report at 9:00am to the Additional Secretary Health (Tech) and DHS (CDC) through fax on daily basis. The EDO (Health) Lahore and DHS (CDC) would collect the report before 10:00am daily and prepare a geographical mapping of all cases and send teams in the affected areas to conduct epidemiological study for source of drinking water, waste disposal, possibility of mixing of the drinking water and sewerage pipelines, the hygienic conditions of the areas. The EDO would distribute ORS in affected localities and also conduct health education sessions. He would also collect the water sample and sent to the bacteriologist for testing. The EDO (Health) would also arrange cleaning of water tanks and chlorination of water supply resources/ water supply schemes through the services of Wasa, Public Health Engineering Department and TMAs. Representative of the Children Hospital during the meeting, presented the previous weeks' data and informed that same number of patients was received in his hospital during these dates in previous years which showed that it was a seasonal rise and not epidemic. MSs at the meeting were directed to test the stools from the patients of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) in pathology laboratories of the hospitals, so that the causative organism could be detected. A sample for detection of strains should be sent to bacteriologist too. The meeting directed all the MSs to ensure the isolation of AWD patients from gastroenteritis patients to avoid the transmission of disease within hospitals. They would also ensure regular disinfections measures in the hospital. The DG Health Services, Punjab also directed to submit daily report about any case of dengue fever reporting to the hospitals and also adopt preventive measure like previous years to keep the disease under control.