PAKISTAN: Pakistan has been struggling to fight outbreaks of dengue and other waterborne diseases, particularly in the country’s south, authorities said on Monday, with the government and charities setting up hundreds of medical camps nationwide to treat patients in flood-ravaged areas.
Historic monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains brought cataclysmic floods, which have killed at least 1,314 and affected over 35 million people, according to data shared by the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC). A third of the country is submerged and the extreme weather, widely attributed to climate change, is still expected to continue for the next few days.
In the southern Sindh province, 511 people, including 219 children, have lost their lives, while thousands across the country are under attack by various vectorborne and waterborne diseases, including diarrhoea, malaria, skin infections and dengue, according to medics working in the field.
Official data released by the Sindh government shows the spike in number of dengue cases from 361 in July to 1,336 in September, while 257 cases alone have been reported in first four days of September. The Sindh government has set up 110 medical camps and assigned 117 doctors and 277 paramedics, who have treated over 785,000 patients in flood-hit areas since July.
“Mosquitoes are spreading rapidly in all floods-affected areas in Sindh province, leading to high number of daily dengue cases,” Mehar Khursheed, a spokesperson for the Sindh health department, told Arab News.
Khursheed said the Government was planning aerial fogging of flood-hit areas to tackle the vectorborne diseases. “We are working on provision of special planes for aerial fogging as the situation regarding waterborne diseases was getting dangerous,” she said.
According to a report by the Sindh health department, 94 people were diagnosed with dengue on Saturday, while 161 people were admitted in hospitals on Thursday and Friday.
– ARAB NEWS