The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednes-day launched special initiatives across the province to raise awareness and conduct entomological sur-veillance, with a focus on combating diseases such as dengue and malaria. According to the latest Den-gue Statistics for 2023, a total of 26 positive dengue cases have been reported in eight districts of the province.
The affected districts and their respective case counts are: Mardan 10 cases, Peshawar 5, Bajaur 4, Chitral Lower 2, D. I. Khan 2, Lakki Marwat, and Khyber and Kohat 1 each. The surveillance activi-ties including inspections of households and con-tainers were conducted. A total of 1,856,649 house-holds were inspected, out of which 514 households tested positive. Furthermore, 6,006,789 containers were inspected, and 837 samples were found to be positive for dengue.
Outside areas were also inspected, with 321,762 inspections conducted, leading to the detection of 245 positive samples. A series of public awareness sessions were also organized that attracted the par-ticipation of 53,208 males and 1,570,699 females. Additionally, 744 walks were arranged, and educa-tional materials, including pamphlets, were distrib-uted to disseminate information about disease pre-vention.
The campaign also incorporated an interactive ques-tion-and-answer session to address participants’ inquiries. Secretary Health Mehmood Aslam com-mended the efforts of the surveillance teams across the province, emphasizing the significance of moni-toring and taking tangible action. He reiterated the commitment to creating awareness and protecting people from various diseases. Secretary Aslam urged the public to cooperate with health teams.—APP
