Water-borne diseases on the rise in flood-affected areas

Source: The News

Date: August 23, 2010

The burden of diseases being reported from the flood-hit areas of Pakistan is constantly escalating. As many as 204,040 cases of acute diarrhoea, 263,356 cases of skin diseases and 204,647 cases of acute respiratory infection have been reported from health facilities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, as of August 18. More than 1.5 million patient consultations have been conducted in the flood-affected provinces since onset of the natural disaster, latest data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) here on Sunday indicates.

The magnitude of the diseases been reported needs to be analysed against the backdrop of the grim reality that only 39% of the US $56.2 million requested to support the health response in Pakistan’s flood-hit areas, has thus far been funded.

According to a province-wise data, in KPK, the daily number of reported acute diarrhoea cases is rising, particularly in Charsadda, Nowshera and Peshawar. Strong water and sanitation interventions, such as provision of clean drinking water supply and addressing environmental hazards, are urgently needed to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases in these communities.

As of August 18, as many as 120 health facilities (82 mobile and 38 fixed) in nine flood-affected districts of KPK have reported 15,552 patient consultations, with acute respiratory infections accounting for 17% of the cases (2,653), skin infections 16% (2,521) and acute diarrhoea 15% (2,329). From July 31-August 18, health facilities in KPK have reported 318,032 patient visits.

Link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/23-08-2010/islamabad/646.htm