Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj reviews readiness of govt hospitals to tackle dengue

NEW DELHI: Following a high-level meeting with top doctors in state-run hospitals and officials of health department to assess the preparedness to fight vector-borne diseases, health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday ordered an intensive fogging and sanitation exercise in the capital.
The minister asked the officials to conduct regular visits to hospitals to assess availability of medicines and directed them to run awareness campaigns to prevent any dengue outbreak this year.Dengue is caused by a virus that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.
The meeting was attended by medical directors and superintendents of state-run hospitals and health department officials. The minister had held two meetings on govt’s preparedness for dengue management with health department officials last week.
According to a govt statement, the minister has directed the medical officers for immediate examination of people arriving with symptoms of dengue and their proper treatment, if found positive. “Bharadwaj instructed the officials concerned to intensify fogging and cleaning campaigns in dengue-prone areas and directed medical superintendents to visit the facilities daily,” the statement read.
In a post in Hindi on X, Bharadwaj said, “Held a review meeting with medical superintendents and directors of all Delhi govt hospitals regarding dengue cases during the rainy season. Detailed information was sought about the availability of medicines in hospitals, arrangement of beds for dengue patients and other preparations. Instructions were also issued to take necessary steps to prevent dengue.”
He directed the officials to ensure that if any mosquito breeding spot was spotted around hospital premises, it should be promptly brought to the notice of Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He also asked them to ensure availability of mosquito nets in sufficient quantities for dengue patients in all health facilities.
“Instructions were issued to run awareness campaigns to make the public aware and identify the symptoms of dengue, with an emphasis on holding such programmes in schools and public places,” the statement read.
While the minister issued instructions to health department to increase rapid testing and treatment of dengue, he also directed that information about measures to prevent dengue was to be disseminated through social media, newspapers and television.