KARACHI: An outbreak of waterborne diseases in areas hit by recent record-breaking flooding has created an alarming situation and it is feared that these infectious diseases may kill more people than floods, whiles authorities stepping up efforts to ensure the provision of clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes in the disaster.
The U.N. children’s agency said more than 3 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance and stood at heightened risk of diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history.
Government authorities and aid agencies also were working to secure medical facilities to thousands of pregnant women, who are among 33 million people affected by floods.
Diarrhea, skin diseases and eye infections are spreading at relief camps set up by the government across the country. Over 90,000 diarrhea cases were reported from one of the worst-hit provinces, Sindh, in the past 24 hours, according to a report released by the health officials. But the illnesses were also reported from other flood-hit areas.
660,120 have reported various illnesses at government-run medical camps in flood-affected areas since July, according to health department.
The stats show that skin ailments and diarrheal diseases are rampant in flood-affected areas — a total of 149,551 reported with diarrheal diseases while 142,739 people reported with skin infections.
The officials recorded 132,485 cases of acute respiratory disease, 49,420 cases of suspected malaria, 101 cases of snakebite and 550 cases of dog-bite.
There were 185,274 cases of other illnesses.
According to health department officials, around 5m people have been displaced in the devastating floods, which damaged over 1,000 health facilities in Sindh.
Of them, 966 were partially damaged whereas 126 were completely destroyed.
The government data shows that while the cases of cholera were on the decline, cases of diarrhea and dysentery are increasing in Sindh.
