Intensifying anti-malaria steps, the Punjab Government has decided to cover 21 susceptible towns under Urban Malaria Scheme. The towns, namely Amritsar, ludhiana, Ferozepur, Jalandhar , Patiala, Malerkotla, Bathinda, Kapurthala, Rajpura, Nabha, Jagraon, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Sangrur, Barnala, SAS Nagar, Phagwara, Khanna, Faridkot, Malout and Tarn Taran, have been included in the Scheme with the approval from the Centre.
Under the Scheme, launched by the Central Government under Modified Plan of Operation (MPO), it was decided to initiate anti-larval and anti-parasitic measures to abate the malaria transmission in urban areas. Declaring June as ‘Malaria Month’, the Punjab Government has intensified its ongoing operations to check the outbreak of malaria in urban as well as rural parts of the state.
The State Health department, in collaboration with the local civic bodies, has already launched a State-wide campaign to prevent vector borne diseases including malaria and sought cooperation from general public in making this campaign success.All civil surgeons have been directed to coordinate with respective local bodies to take necessary steps to prevent breeding of the mosquitoes in and around their vicinity in each town.
“All the block and district level health officers have been directed to expedite their efforts to educate general public regarding prevention of breeding of the mosquitoes to prevent any cases of Malaria,” said the State Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani. He said that the department has sufficient quantities of insecticides for prevention of spread of the vector borne diseases. “The officials had also been asked to spray insecticides on the pits filled with water and prevent stagnating of water in their surroundings,” he said.
The Health Department surveillance teams have already been sent to various parts of the state to be in touch with the officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC), water supply and sewerage board and some others departments concerned regarding the prevention of the outbreak of diseases and also to ensure hygiene in the residential areas, parks and other green belts in the areas under their control, said Jayani.
The Minister has also asked the Director Health to get the workshops organised at District, Sub divisional, Block and Sub centre levels in the remaining weeks of June 2015. He has also asked the officials to spray anti-malaria smoke in the residential areas and prevent stagnation of office. The Health Department teams have been kept ready at various hospitals and health centres across the district in case of any eventuality, Minister added.
He said that the Civil Surgeons were also asked to ensure that all fever cases reported are tested free of cost for Malaria. Directing the health officers at district levels, the Minister asked them to ensure that Malaria should be treated free of cost at all the government hospitals of the state. “Punjab has adequate dengue testing kits for free testing of suspected cases at government hospitals in the state as well as have medicines to provide free supportive treatment to the dengue and malaria cases,” he said.