Expert opinion: ‘Climate change has caused outbreak’

KARACHI:

Diarrhoea is spreading mostly through the consumption of contaminated water, said paediatric association president Dr Iqbal Ahmed Memon.

Normally the disease surfaces after the rainy season, he said, but climate change and the recent heat wave in the city combined with prolonged load-shedding has resulted in an increase in diseases, such as diarrhoea, vomiting and sunstroke. A lot of people have been referred to hospitals and even private clinics have reported a sharp rise in the number of cases in the past two weeks, making it seem more like an epidemic, he said.

Dr Memon said that doctors have already warned parents to make sure their children are not exposed to the sun and are drinking plenty of boiled and chlorinated water.

Stomach, intestinal and liver diseases always rise in the summer season, said public health director Dr Masood Solangi. Heat stroke is another problem among children in the rural areas, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.