Daily Times

The Rawalpindi Administration had registered around 290 FIRs on violations of anti-dengue SOPs from January 1 to date in various areas of the district.

Director Health Rawalpindi,Dr Ansar Ishaq while giving details of the punitive actions, told APP that the district administration, in collaboration with allied departments, had sealed 108 premises, issued Challans to 215, notices to 1,106, and a fine of Rs 317,600 imposed on violations of dengue SOPs in 2023.

He informed that as many as 21 confirmed cases had been reported in the district this year, while the number was 13 in 2022,and two in 2021 during the period.

The health officer further stated that among the cases ,four of each were reported from the Rawalpindi Cantonment, Chaklala Cantonment and Municipal Corporation area ,two from Potohar town urban area, while one of each case had arrived from Potohar rural, Gujjar Khan and Kotli Sattian.

During indoor vector surveillance ,Dr Ansar informed that larvae was detected at 11,507 sites while during outdoor surveillance larvae was found at 2,010 spots this year.

Director health added that the recent rains had increased the spread of dengue fever and mosquito breeding which needed to be tackled immediately.

Dr Ansar said that puddles of water, which get stagnant due to rain, become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and spread diseases like malaria and dengue fever. He also urged the residents to clean their water tanks and not leave any place wet with stagnant water.

He said that dengue fever was not a life-threatening disease, but it can cause severe life-threatening complications if not treated properly. “If you have a fever of 3-10 days duration with associated symptoms like headache, muscle and joint pains, retro-orbital pain (pain behind the eyeballs), and skin rash, then you need to get yourself checked”, he added.