City faces gastroenteritis outbreak
The provincial capital is facing an outbreak of gastrointestinal diseases with round 4,000 patients brought to the emergency wards of the big hospitals during the past three days.
The emergency wards of the city’s major hospitals are filling with gastroenteritis patients.
Official record showed that around 1,800 patients of the disease were brought o Lahore General Hospital’s emergency ward, 1,250 to Services Hospital, 414 to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, 200 to Mayo Hospital and 350 to Jinnah Hospital.
A number of sases of gastroenteritis were also reported at Lahore division’s other health facilities, including Government Shahdara Hospital, Kot Khawaja Saeed Hospital and Government Muzang Hospital.
Health experts advised the people to drink clean water, eat healthy food and avoid to going outdoors during the ongoing hot season.
The number of patients of heatstroke and cholera in the emergency wards is also continuously increasing.
The provincial health department has alerted the hospital administrations to improve arrangements to cope with the situation.
An official of the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department told The Express Tribune on Tuesday that the number of patients of gastrointestinal diseases in the city had surged during the past three days. He said around 4,000 patients of the diseases had been registered in the city’s major government and private hospitals.
The highest number of patients currently admitted the emergency wards was suffering from gastrointestinal diseases and the figure was rising, the official added.
Hospitals in Lahore were already struggling to provide emergency treatment to patients of heatstroke amid an increased load during the past two weeks.
However, gastrointestinal diseases have become a new challenge for the health department with a spike in the number of patients in recent days. The higher authorities of the health department have taken notice of the situation.
A similar situation was reported from several other cities of Punjab, including Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Chakwal, Narowal, Sialkot, Bahawalpur and Rawalpindi.
A staff nurse at Lahore General Hospital said most of the patients had been received from the areas of Ghazi Road, Township, Sanda and other areas of Nashtar Town. She said 997 patients had been brought to the hospital’s emergency wards during 24 hours a couple of days ago.
She said the patients included both males and females, including some whose condition was critical.
She said there had been no let-up in the number of patients being treated for gastrointestinal problems in the hospital.
Punjab health department spokesperson Sayed Hamad Raza said steps were being taken to cope with the situation. He said the hospital administrators across the province had been instructed to take maximum steps to handle the diseases.
Mayo Hospital’s Senior Medical Officer Dr Ghulam Fareed termed contaminated food and water the main causes of gastrointestinal diseases.
He said the diseases were afflicting people in all parts of the city.
“The people have a habit of consuming contaminated drinks, especially juice, to get relief from hot weather,” he said.
The doctor said the citizens should avoid go outdoors and should drink boiled and filtered water during the ongoing season.
He said people should also avoid frozen food and eat vegetables. People should adopt a simple lifestyle during the harsh weather.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2022.