LAHORE:
The metropolis has recorded a sharp decline in dengue cases and deaths in recent years, according to data compiled by the Metropolitan Corporation of Lahore.
The data shows that Lahore had witnessed a major outbreak in 2021, when 20,042 dengue cases and 118 deaths were reported. Most cases were recorded in the areas of Cantonment, DHA, open spaces and rural localities.
The number of cases fell to 8,252 in 2022, while deaths dropped to 24. In 2023, 7,031 cases and six deaths were reported. The situation improved further in 2024, with only 475 cases recorded and no deaths. Last year, 781 dengue cases and three deaths were recorded.
Available data for the ongoing year shows 23 cases so far, with no death reported.
Officials attributed the decline to coordinated action against mosquito breeding sites. Lahore DC Mohammed Ali Ejaz said all necessary measures, including efforts to prevent larval breeding, were continuing.
He stressed the importance of public cooperation, saying timely identification and cleaning of potential breeding sites could help reduce the risk of a resurgence. Awareness campaigns were being conducted to encourage citizens to take preventive measures, he added.
A former deputy commissioner, Syed Musa Raza, said the administration had focused on practical measures.
He said surveillance and cleanliness at cemeteries, lakes, ponds, residential and commercial areas and other potential mosquito-breeding sites had been strengthened.
According to Raza, authorities had also directed the hospitals to report dengue patients and laboratory results. Whenever dengue larvae or a patient was identified, preventive measures were initiated in the affected area, including spraying around the infected household and neighbouring homes.
He said more than 200 open ponds and stagnant-water sites across the city had been cleared, while the cleaning of drains was also carried out in coordination with the Water and Sanitation Agency.
Former Mayo Hospital medical superintendent Dr Ehteshamul Haq said dengue could only be effectively controlled by ensuring that both larvae and patients were identified and reported rather than concealed.
