Punjab establishes field hospital in Lahore amid dengue emergency

LAHORE – The provincial government in the country’s most populous province has established a 280-bed dengue field hospital at Lahore Expo Centre amid rising cases of mosquito-borne disease.

Reports in local media cited that medical professionals from General Hospital, Services Hospital, Jinnah Hospital, and Mayo Hospital have been deputed at the field hospital while Dr. Asad Aslam Khan has been made the focal person.

Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid inaugurated the hospital on Sunday. The PTI Minister also visited various units to see the arrangements, and she got briefed by Special Secretary Ajmal Bhatti and Consultant Asad Aslam Khan.

Speaking with the media, Dr. Yasmin said that the dengue larvae were found in more than 1,700 houses in the provincial capital. She also mentioned that eight people have died of the dengue virus in Punjab this year. Around 226 new patients were reported from Punjab on Saturday, while 177 are from Lahore.

She also mentioned that Services and the Ganga Ram Hospital had already filled to capacity with dengue patients however she mentioned that the number of beds was increased in other medical facilities.

The Minister also added that free treatment for fever would be given in all hospitals and all tests would also be conducted without any fee.

On Saturday, the government has declared a medical emergency at public health facilities in the Punjab capital amid the rising number of dengue cases.

Punjab health secretary termed recent rains other than construction sites as the breeding ground for dengue larvae saying it has engulfed much of the metropolis.

The bone-breaking fever is a threat to nearly half of the world’s population. Around 220 million people are infected each year, two million, mostly children in Latin America and Asia, develop its severe form called dengue hemorrhagic fever while there is no specific treatment for the disease.