Cholera outbreak in Dukki district kills two

QUETTA:

Waterborne diseases still haunt the inhabitants of Balochistan unnoticed who are already struggling to recover from the trauma of recent devastating floods.

On Monday two minor girls died of cholera in Dukki district as over 1,500 cholera patients were admitted to District Headquarters Hospital Dukki for treatment after an outbreak.

This pushed up the total death toll to six in the district in a week.

An official of the health department told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity that there was a large influx of patients. He said that most of the patients were discharged after treatment and only over two dozen were currently admitted to the hospital.

Health department has already declared an emergency to cope with cholera and other water-borne ailments among the flood victims after record flash floods wreaked havoc across the province recently.

Most of the patients infected by cholera were women and children. Two-year-old Ayesha and a seven-year-old girl died in Yaro city, the official said.

The death toll in cholera-related incidents rose to six during the last few days in the district, the official noted. The Balochistan health department in collaboration with the army and Frontier Corps (FC) has established medical camps across the flood-hit areas of Balochistan to make sure timely provision of health facilities. Yet the non-availability of clean drinking water has put thousands of flood survivors at risk of contracting diseases.

“We are alert and trying our best to overcome the outbreak,” Balochistan Health Secretary Hafiz Tahir said.

He said the government had directed all health professionals to ensure their presence in hospitals. Cholera previously claimed precious human lives in Dera Bugti district earlier this year when its outbreak was reported in Pir Koh.

Hundreds of people have been affected by cholera and diarrhea in Kohlu, Barkhan, Pishin, Khuzdar, Zhob and other districts of Balochistan.

“The main reason behind the outbreak of cholera is the use of contaminated water from local wells, streams and ponds,” a medical expert Dr Sadiq Khan Achakzai told The Express Tribune.

He said the floodwater had mixed with drinking water which was the reason behind the ever increasing cases of cholera and diarrhea in the province.

Dr Achakzai observed that the government and non-governmental organizations have to evolve a strategy to deal with the situation.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2022.