RAWALPINDI: The district administration on Tuesday asked the District Health Authority to start work on identifying breeding places of dengue mosquitoes. Training of staff will be started to launch an anti-dengue drive in the upcoming spring season.
The decision was taken in a meeting held to review the anti-dengue measures for the year 2026 at in the deputy commissioner office with Punjab Coordinator for Dengue Control Dr Waseem Akram and Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema in the chair.
After the meeting, Mr Akram said the basic objective of the meeting was to ask the District Health Authority and other provincial departments to start work to avoid spread of dengue virus in the spring season.
“Though the performance of the district administration Rawalpindi was better last year, there is dire need to start work on time for anti-dengue drives and training of staff.” He said that the dengue mosquitoes breeding will likely start once the temperature rises to more than 10 degrees, adding the civic bodies should prepare their plans.
Meanwhile, the meeting was told that no dengue patient had been reported in the district so far. However, in view of the possible risks, hotspots have been identified and timely preventive measures initiated at these places. The meeting was further informed that all field teams are mobilised to make the dengue surveillance system effective.
The deputy commissioner directed that all training stages related to dengue control should be completed on time. He said that the purpose of holding the meeting in January was to prevent the possible spread of dengue through timely and effective planning.
He said that accurate identification of hotspots and continuous monitoring of them is very important. He directed that the dengue surveillance system should be further strengthened and regular training of doctors and paramedical staff serving in private clinics should be completed.
He clarified that preventive measures related to dengue should be ensured in all private clinics. The meeting expressed the determination that the district administration, health department and other relevant institutions will work together to make anti-dengue measures effective and provide a safe environment to the public.
The meeting was informed that civic bodies had been asked to clear stagnant water from low lying areas after rain.
Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2026
