Lahore enjoying dengue ebb

The situation improved further in 2024, with only 475 cases recorded and no deaths. Last year, 781 dengue cases and three deaths were recorded. Available data for the ongoing year shows 23 cases so far, with no death reported.

Officials attributed the decline to coordinated action against mosquito breeding sites. Lahore DC Mohammed Ali Ejaz said all necessary measures, including efforts to prevent larval breeding, were continuing. He stressed the importance of public cooperation, saying timely identification and cleaning of potential breeding sites could help reduce the risk of a resurgence.

Awareness campaigns were being conducted to encourage citizens to take preventive measures, he added. A former deputy commissioner, Syed Musa Raza, said the administration had focused on practical measures.

He said surveillance and cleanliness at cemeteries, lakes, ponds, residential and commercial areas and other potential mosquito-breeding sites had been strengthened., authorities had also directed the hospitals to report dengue patients and laboratory results. Whenever dengue larvae or a patient was identified, preventive measures were initiated in the affected area, including spraying around the infected household and neighbouring homes.

He said more than 200 open ponds and stagnant-water sites across the city had been cleared, while the cleaning of drains was also carried out in coordination with the Water and Sanitation Agency.

Former Mayo Hospital medical superintendent Dr Ehteshamul Haq said dengue could only be effectively controlled by ensuring that both larvae and patients were identified and reported rather than concealed.