RAWALPINDI: All four of the entomologists working in Rawalpindi city were sent to Peshawar to help the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in its anti-dengue drive, leaving the city unattended for a week.

With the start of the dengue season, the provincial government sent anti-dengue teams to Peshawar which may lead to the suspension of all anti-dengue activities in the city for a week or so. However, the district administration has sought help from the Punjab government so other entomologists can run the campaign in the 46 union councils of the city.

A senior official of the district administration told Dawn the teams sent to Peshawar also include four doctors and that beds have been allocated in the three government-run hospitals in the city for patients from Peshawar.

He said it will be difficult to run anti-dengue campaigns in the 46 UCs of the city without the entomologists.

Entomology is the study of insects and entomologists in the city were helping identify dengue mosquitoes.

He said the provincial government should have sent entomologists from Lahore or the Agriculture University instead of those working in the city areas.

“The entomologists had been deputed for anti-dengue management in the city and they knew the areas which can be troublesome in the coming days and if they are replaced, the new experts will take more than a month to understand the situation in the city and make the drive effective,” he said.

Dengue larvae were found in many commercial areas of the city in the last week, he said, and that the entomologists knew these developments and had taken measures to stop the virus from spreading.

During the last few years, dengue larvae have been found in Amarpura, the glass factory area, areas near Chandni Chowk and Murree Road and areas along Leh Nullah but the health authorities are yet to adopt measures for eliminating dengue mosquitoes from these areas.

When asked, District Health Authority Chief Executive Officer Dr Fayyaz Butt said the anti-dengue campaign in the city will not be affected if the entomologists are not here for a few days or a week.

“The city is in safe hands and there is no chance of a dengue outbreak at least in this season,” he said.

Dr Butt said anti-dengue medicines are sprayed where experts recommend as unnecessary spraying will not have any effect. He said the environment department has also stopped unnecessary fogging and is focusing on detecting dengue mosquitoes manually.—Aamir Yasin