Chandigarh, Sept 23: State health authorities have intensified vector-control measures following the report of 451 dengue and 16 chikungunya cases across Punjab. Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh stated that extensive testing efforts remain active, with a significant share of samples processed through local health centers.
Addressing a review meeting at the Directorate of Health Services, the minister highlighted specific directives for districts showing elevated case numbers, including Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Faridkot, and Tarn Taran. Officials were instructed to deploy nursing students alongside field workers for ground-level source reduction and carry out need-based fogging in vulnerable localities.
Dr Balbir Singh asserted that inter-departmental cooperation and active community participation remain vital to controlling mosquito breeding. Alongside vector-control steps, district administration officials were tasked with rectifying damaged water pipelines to ensure safe drinking supplies and facilitating local distribution drives for government health coverage cards.
