Child among four dead in Dera Bugti cholera outbreak

An outbreak of cholera has claimed at least four lives including of a child and affected hundreds others in Balochistan's resource-rich Dera Bugti district.

"Four people including a child died after the outbreak of cholera," Muhammad Azam Bugti, the District Health Officer (DHO) Dera Bugti told The Express Tribune on Wednesday. However, locals and independent sources put the number of deaths to over a dozen in the Pir Koh area of the district.

Poorly equipped hospitals in the district were crammed with patients and their attendants in the aftermath of the outbreak of the disease. Women and children were also among the affected.

"No health facilities have been provided despite the alarming situation", Muhammad Bakhsh Bugti, a resident of the area, said.

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He lamented that the provincial government had failed to improve health facilities in the district despite repeated assurances and announcements.

Five family members of Bugti including a child were admitted to Pir Koh hospital because of contaminated water. "They are under treatment and we pray for their recovery," he said as his voice cracked.

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Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Quddus Bizenjo took notice of the outbreak and directed the health department to double its efforts to make sure timely health facilities for the patients.

He ordered an immediate release of Rs10 million to support the patients in the Dera Bugti district, an official handout issued on Wednesday evening said.

Most of the patients had become weak because of cholera and the non-availability of clean drinking water and proper treatment.

The situation has also prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to dispatch its team to the affected areas. "We have dispatched a team to investigate and assess the situation", an official of the WHO said. He requested anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media.

DHO Dera Bugti Azam Bugti said that cholera has affected around 1,500 people. "Most of the patients are either women or children," he informed. The major reason behind the spread of cholera was using contaminated water, he added.