C T Online Desk: Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday dismissed fears of saline shortage at government hospitals, with demand for the medicine skyrocketing amid a dengue outbreak.
“It is not possible to suddenly increase production [of saline]. That is why the companies that manufacture saline have been directed to ramp up their production to 100% of their capacity,” the minister told reporters after visiting the dengue unit of the 250-bed Manikganj General Hospital on Saturday.
“We need 40,000 bags of saline every day. In that case, 1.2 million bags of saline are required per month. Not all companies can produce that much at once. I had a meeting with my experts two days ago and instructions were given for the import of saline if required,” said the minister
Maleque said city corporations and municipalities have the responsibility to spray insecticide regularly in places where water accumulates or on open drains. Spraying will not be effective if it is only done when an outbreak occurs. It should be done throughout the year. “Only then will mosquitoes come under control… dengue will come under control.”
While visiting the dengue unit, he spoke to dengue patients and inquired about their treatment.
The health minister also said: “The number of dengue cases is still on the rise; there have been some 80,000 cases across the country.”
“To reduce the number of dengue patients, we need to reduce the number of mosquitoes. I have asked the city corporations and municipalities to spray more and more insecticide to kill mosquitoes.”
The minister added that an instruction has been issued to keep 5,000 beds ready all over the country and that many beds are still vacant.
