By Fazal Khaliq
MINGORA: To highlight preventive measures for putting brakes on dengue fever an awareness seminar was organised at Kabal tehsil here on Friday.
The event was organised by SRSP under European Union Peace project in collaboration with district health department and tehsil administration.
Besides community activists and students from different schools, Kabal Tehsil Nazim Haji Rahmat Ali and Assistant Commissioner, Kabal, Hamid Ali were in attendance.
Syed Mohiuddin, in-charge dengue control cell of Swat health department, welcomed all the participants and thanked them for their active participation in the awareness walk. He said awareness was key to controlling dengue in communities.
Medical experts briefed the participants about dengue fever and how to control and eliminate the mosquito in their areas.
“The most important step to control dengue is to keep monitoring water sites and pots in the communities,” said Dr Liaqat Ali, a focal person for dengue control in Swat. With the help of slideshows, he identified possible places where dengue mosquitoes could breed. “Preventive measures are the very essential to avoid dengue outbreak,” he stressed.
He also answered questions raised by participants about the possible spread and prevention of the dengue fever.
Haji Rahmat Ali, the Kabal Tehsil Nazim, appreciated the awareness session and asked people to contribute to the community service. “Being community representatives the elected members should play their role to bridge the gap between community and line departments,” he said.
Over 9,000 dengue cases surfaced in 2013 with over 30 dead in Swat. However, this year, according to Swat health department, no dengue case surfaced so far.
DHO Dr Said Ali declared Swat a dengue-free-zone after praising the KP government efforts to eliminate virus from the valley. He said it became possible with the mutual cooperation between the relevant departments and communities.
