Multan’s children fall ill during cold snap

A large number of children in South Punjab, including Multan, reportedly fell ill due to the cold snap in the region.

As per the details available with The Express Tribune, on a daily basis, a large number of children were reported to be suffering from cold, cough and flu at the Children’s Complex Hospital and Multan Nishtar Hospital.

There was also a shortage of beds and there were only two wards for newborns at Multan Nishtar Hospital. Emergency wards of the Children’s Complex had also filled due to the high influx of patients.

Medical experts issued instructions and precautionary steps to protect the children from cold. A severe cold wave was continuing in South Punjab including in Multan. As a result of this extreme weather condition, adults as well as children were being severely affected. The number of children getting sick from the cold was constantly increasing.

On a daily basis, a large number of children from South Punjab, interior areas of Sindh province, Balochistan province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were being affected. In Multan, the minor patients were being shifted to the Children’s Complex Hospital and Multan Nishtar Hospital. More than 60% of children were suffering from cold, flu, cough or chest infection.

Multan Nishtar Hospital had about 80 beds in only two wards of Pediatric Medicine which was too low for such a large number of reported patients. Minor patients at the Children’s Complex Hospital were also being referred to Multan Nishtar Hospital due to lack of space. Reportedly, the families of the patients were constantly commuting between the two major hospitals.

Meanwhile, medical experts Dr Sajid Akhtar, Dr Nusrat Buzdar, Dr Jawad and others had instructed the parents of the children to prevent their children from cold. They urged the parents to not let their children play in the open. Protect children from the cold, especially at night so that they do not get sick, they added.