LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir has ordered dengue larvae surveys inside government institutions and offices in Lahore, directing that action be taken without discrimination wherever larvae are found on official premises, as the provincial capital enters the season when dengue transmission typically peaks.
The minister also ordered the Deputy Commissioner Lahore to have the city’s anti-dengue campaign audited by a third party, and directed that senior officers, rather than junior staff, take part in field operations.
The directives came at a high-level meeting chaired by Khawaja Imran Nazir to review anti-dengue operations under way in the provincial capital. The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Lahore Captain (retd) Ali Ejaz, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Municipal), Deputy District Officers (Health) and representatives of allied departments.
“Action under the anti-dengue campaign must be taken without discrimination,” the minister told the meeting, making clear that government buildings would not be exempt from the scrutiny routinely applied to homes, shops and construction sites.
The instruction to survey government premises is significant. Anti-dengue teams in Lahore have traditionally concentrated on residential areas, markets, tyre shops, junkyards, graveyards and construction sites, where penalties and cases are regularly registered against owners whose premises harbour larvae. Official buildings — with their rooftop water tanks, blocked drains, discarded furniture and unused spaces — can offer the same breeding conditions but have received less attention. By ordering surveys there and promising equal treatment, the minister has signalled that the public sector will be held to the same standard it enforces on citizens.
The order for a third-party audit is intended to verify the work reported by field teams, which in past seasons has faced criticism over surveillance activity recorded without adequate on-the-ground follow-up. The minister also said senior officers should personally participate in operations, a move aimed at improving supervision and the quality of fieldwork.
Khawaja Imran Nazir directed the CEO Health to obtain data from private hospitals and general practitioners. A large share of patients with fever first visit private clinics, and without their reports the official picture of dengue cases can lag behind the real situation, delaying targeted spraying and larviciding in affected neighbourhoods.
He also directed that students be involved in preventive activities, reflecting the role schools and colleges can play in spreading awareness and checking homes for standing water.
For his part, the Deputy Commissioner Lahore said mosquito breeding sites and hotspot areas must be fully covered.
The dengue virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito, which breeds in clean, stagnant water — in flower pots, water coolers, tyres, uncovered tanks and rooftop containers — and bites mainly during the day. In Lahore, cases usually rise in the weeks after the monsoon, when collected rainwater combines with warm temperatures, and the season generally continues until the weather turns cooler in November. The city has had heavy monsoon spells this year, including urban flooding warnings, followed by a hot, dry spell that has kept temperatures near 37°C.
Lahore’s experience of the 2011 epidemic, which infected thousands and claimed hundreds of lives, still shapes the province’s surveillance system built around larvae detection, case reporting and rapid response.
Health officials routinely advise residents to empty or cover any container that can hold water at least once a week, clean water cooler trays, check rooftops after rain, use mosquito repellents and nets, and wear long sleeves during the day. Anyone with high fever, severe body aches, pain behind the eyes or unusual bleeding should seek medical advice promptly rather than self-medicate.
The DC Lahore, who was recently awarded a CM merit badge, is now responsible for commissioning the third-party audit ordered by the minister.
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