AHEAD OF RAINY SEASON, PUNJAB HEALTH MINISTER URGES PEOPLE TO CLEAN ALL POSSIBLE WATER-STAGNATION POINTS

— CHAIRS MEETING OF STATE TASK FORCE TO CHALK-OUT STRATEGY TO TACKLE VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES

— 1300 BEDS DEDICATED TO TACKLE DENGUE AND OTHER VECTOR-BORNE DISEASES, SAYS DR BALBIR SINGH

— TEST & TREATMENT OF DENGUE AND MALARIA IS COMPLETELY FREE AT ALL GOVT HEALTH FACILITIES: DR BALBIR SINGH

CHANDIGARH, May 30:

          With the rainy season is around the corner, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the state task force to chalk-out a strategy to prevent the outbreak of vector-borne diseases in the state. Vector-borne diseases include Dengue, Chikunguniya, Malaria, Lymphatic Filariasis, Japanese Encephalitis and Kala Azar.

          The inter-departmental meeting was attended by representatives of the Department of Local Government, Rural Development & Panchayats, Water Supply & Sanitation, State Transport, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Medical Education & Research, Education, Labour and Indian Medical Association.

          Dr Balbir Singh, while reviewing the activities being carried out by various departments to deal with the growing threat of dengue, Malaria and other vector borne diseases, instructed all the departments to work in tandem to control the spread of these diseases.

          He also appealed to people to keep vigil and clean all the vulnerable points including coolers, containers, pots, terrace etc in the houses, offices or any places where there is a possibility of stagnation of water. He said that this is the only way to break the breeding cycle of mosquitoes, who could mature from egg to adult in just one week.

          The Health Minister also directed the departments of health, local government, and rural development to rope in village health, sanitation and nutrition committees (VHSNCs) and Mahila Arogya Samiti (MAS) to carry out surprise checking in residential as well as commercial areas to keep vigil on mosquito larvae, and also directed to issue challan in case of violation. Local bodies department and department of rural development were also directed to enhance fogging in cities as well as villages.

          He asked the water supply and sanitation department to make soak pits around public water supply taps across the state to prevent stagnation of water. He also directed the education department to sensitise students about these diseases and its symptoms during morning assemblies as well as through Edusat in all the schools of Punjab. Officials from the transport department assured to dispose-off any scrap such as old tyres or old vehicles at the earliest.

          As per the information, only 84 cases of dengue, six cases of chikungunya and nine cases of malaria have been detected in the state.

          Dr Balbir Singh said that the health department is fully geared up to tackle any possible rise in cases of dengue, malaria and chikungunya. As many as 1300 beds have been dedicated in dengue wards, 855 breeding checkers have been hired to control the breeding of mosquitoes, awareness and challaning activities are also being undertaken, he said.

          He said that the test and treatment of dengue and malaria is completely free of cost at all the government health facilities.

          Meanwhile, the Health Minister has also released an awareness poster underlining the importance of awareness in prevention of vector-borne diseases.

          In the meeting, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department Punjab Vivek Pratap Singh, Managing Director NHM Pradeep Kumar Aggarwal, Director Health and Family Welfare Dr Adarshpal Kaur, Director Health Services (FW) Dr Ravinder Pal Kaur, Director NHM Dr SP Singh, Director Medical Education Dr Avnish Kumar, Assistant Director Dr Gagandeep Singh Grover, State Program Officer NVBDCP Dr Arshdeep Kaur and other officials from various departments were present.

 PREVENTION BETTER THAN CURE

• Clean coolers once a week and keep them dry for a day

• Do not keep containers such as flower pots, broken items, tyres, etc on rooftops to prevent waters stagnation

• All possible mosquito-breeding sources and sites should be detected and eliminated

• Spray insecticides in and around the house

• Do not close doors and windows when teams fog insecticides outside

• In case of fever, report to a health dispensary immediately

• Do not use Ibrufen/Asprin in case of fever, use paracetamol