SAS Nagar, October 21, 2024: Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Monday said that due to timely action and management to curb spread of dengue, a reduction of 70 percent has been noticed this year as compared to last year while Chikungunya cases in Punjab has witnessed 90 precent decline. Chairing a review meeting along with Special Secretary Health, Varinder Kumar Sharma with the DC Aashika Jain and all stakeholder departments on Monday Morning, Dr Balbir Singh said as per the commitment of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to make Punjab residents hale and hearty, the Health and Family Welfare Department has been working round the clock to educate the people to sensitise them about breeding of dengue mosquito larvae and how to destroy it.

He urged residents of Punjab that they have to do a simple thing on every Friday as Dry Day (Har Shukarwar Dengu Te War) activity to clean all the vulnerable points of stagnant water. He said these may be desert cooler tanks, flower pots, backside trays of fridge and old tyres or any other spot in and around their houses. He said that last year Punjab had a count of 13000 dengue cases by this day, this year it is 2032. He said this time there has not been any fatality due to dengue.He said that Mohali has also much less count as compared to the 1325 cases of last year without any fatality but the administration has been directed to work more proactively in coordination with all the stakeholders like Local Bodies in Urban Areas, Rural Development and Panchayats in Rural Areas and Water Supply and Sanitation Departments.

He said that the Health Department officials have been asked to push up the breeding checking activities by visiting more houses to educate the people and destroy the dengue larvae. The Minister said that the state is mulling to equip about 20 lakh students of class 8th onwards of the state with basic life skills like checking and destroying dengue mosquito breeding, first aid to accident victims, to stop nose blood, take care of snake bite, improvement in life style disorder etc. The Health and Family Welfare Department has been preparing a basic curriculum for this, he added. He said to ensure pure and unadulterated sweets during the festive season, the milk products samples are being collected and a dedicated food safety van has been deputed. Apprising the measures taken for the safety of doctors and paramedics during duty hours, he said that the CCTVs are being installed on sensitive places at all the Government Hospitals to prevent such incidents.

He said that at the same time the staff at hospitals has also been asked to keep patience in case someone gets violent due to the critical situation of his/her patient. He said that he would take a weekly review from the Deputy Commissioner. Deputy Commissioner Mrs Aashika Jain assured the Health Minister of the aggressive campaign to educate the people of Dengue Mosquito larvae and how to destroy it. She said that all the departments will work in tandem to fight the dengue. The meeting was attended by Health Department, Local Bodies, Rural Development and Water Supply and Sanitation Department officers including administrative officers of the district and sub divisions. BOX: *DENGUE SYMPTOMS* Sudden high fever Severe headaches Pain behind eyes Severe joint and muscle pain Skin rash Fatigue Nausea vomiting

*DO's* Remove water from coolers and other small containers at least once a week Keep overhead tanks covered Drain off water from the back tray of the refrigerator every week Use mosquito nets or mosquito repellents while sleeping during daytime Emptying and drying of water storage utensils on a weekly basis is important Keep surroundings clean and dry to prevent mosquito breeding Dispose of plastic, coconut shells and empty tins and cans Spray insecticides on outdoor containers and water puddles in and around your home

*DON'Ts* Do not wear clothes that expose your arms and legs Children should not be allowed to play in shorts and half sleeved clothes Do not allow water to stagnate in bird feeding pots Do not leave toilet pots uncovered while going out of station Do not use vessels below flowerpots during these months as water stagnates in them if left unchanged Do not give steroids or antibiotics to dengue patients Avoid platelet transfusion unless there is an active bleed or the platelet count is less than 10,000.