Islamabad on August 31 : Experts in health in Pakistan have raised the alarm over the spread of illness in areas affected by flooding estimated at five million people will get sick in the coming four to twelve weeks.People in the areas that are flooded of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are likely to be afflicted with diarrhoea, cholera gastroenteritis, typhoid , and other vector-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria.The News quoted the experts as saying.
It is believed that an outbreak will initially require medication and medical supplies that cost 1 billion PKR They said and appealed to donors, philanthropists and the general public to contribute these items after consulting with health specialists and the officials of welfare and rescue organizations.
of the 33 million people impacted by monsoon rains, and floods in Pakistan It is estimated that about 5 million, which includes children, will become sick due to the spread of vector-borne and waterborne disease in the next 4-12 weeks, The News reported.
“As there isn’t drinking water that is safe to drink in the areas affected by flooding there is a chance of an outbreak of diarrhoea, cholera gastroenteritis, typhoid and malaria” the world-renowned public health expert and Vice-Chancellor of the Health Services Academy (HSA) Islamabad, Shahzad Ali told The News.
He stated that children are more vulnerable due to their weak immunity.He advised that the emergence of acute watery diarrhoea and other water-borne illnesses could cause death to hundreds of adults and children If immediate preventive measures are not taken.
“There is a pressing need to immunize all people in the affected areas of the floods against cholera-typhoid.The vaccine is available in the nation and is able to be used to prevent deaths from cholera and typhoid in Sindh as well as Balochistan.
In the same way the preventative treatment of malaria must also be implemented to avoid deaths due to the disease transmitted by vectors,” Khan said.
However the officials of the welfare organizations that operate in the affected areas of the floods reported that a significant number of people which included women as well as children had already begun suffering from water-borne illnesses such as gastroenteritis, diarrhoea fever, cholera and flu, as well as allergy and scabies, among other fungal skin conditions.
“We think that about one billion rupees will be needed initially to cater for the medical requirements of sick individuals in the areas affected by flooding since hundreds of people are becoming sick due to vector-borne and water-borne diseases in these regions,” said Sufyan Ahmed who is the Director of the Al-Khidmat Health Foundation.of the Al-Khidmat Health Foundation, who is working with the welfare and charity organizations for relief operations in the areas affected by flooding.
san/
.
