Lankan experts in Pakistan to assist dengue eradication

In response to a request from the government of Pakistan through its High Commission in Colombo, the Sri Lankan government will be assisting Pakistan’s fight against thedengue virus, by sending a 11 member expert team today.

The Sri Lankan expert team in dengue eradication will be staying in Pakistan for 10-15 days and helping carry out the needed assessment and training of the Pakistan officials. In addition, the expert team will also be taking the required equipment and insecticides to tackle the outbreak.

Looking at the growing rate of dengue patients in Punjab province of Pakistan, the High Commission of Pakistan in Colombo requested the Sri Lankan Government to provide trained personnel to visit Pakistan for assistance and training of Pakistani medical and paramedical staff to help combat the disease.

In a gesture of friendship, President Mahinda Rajapaksa personally assured the High Commissioner of Pakistan Seema Illahi Baloch of his government’s commitment to assist the government and people of Pakistan to overcome the disease outbreak. The High Commission of Pakistan also had talks regarding the matter with Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena, Senior Minister A.H.M. Fowzie and other experts at the Ministry of Health. During the meeting the plans and details for the visit of the Lankan expert team were discussed and finalized.

In recent weeks, dengue fever has rapidly spread in various parts of Pakistan. However, Punjab province is the worst hit.

The first case of dengue fever in Pakistan was reported in 1994 in Karachi. This disease has since spread slowly and in 2006, there were a large number of patients affected with dengue fever. The current outbreak of the disease so far has seen over 3,000 cases reported from the provincial capital Lahore alone.

For dengue eradication in Pakistan, public health officers are keen to learn from the Sri Lanka experience. After a 10-year peak in 2009, the Sri Lankan government declared control of the vector-borne disease, a national priority.