Cold wave spurs pneumonia spurt

Hospitals strained by increasing number of patients

LAHORE:

A cold wave in Punjab has created an emergency situation in hospitals with 130 new pneumonia cases reported across the province on Tuesday.

The situation is most serious in Lahore where 60 new cases of the disease were confirmed during the past 24 hours.

The hospital outpatient departments also received a large number of patients complaining of ailment caused by cold weather like fever, cough, flu and chest infection.

A large number of children were among the pneumonia patients.

The extreme cold weather and smog in Lahore and other areas is also posing a high risk to the health of elderly people.

Pneumonia began spreading in the city around three weeks ago.

The provincial government also extended the winter vacations for the young children to protect them from the weather condition.

Health officials were instructed to compile data related to the disease in the province.

The health department started collecting the data but has not shared it publicly.

A senior health official told The Express Tribune that the extreme cold weather and smog in the province this year were the main reasons of the high number of pneumonia patients.

Read  Pneumonia scare grips Punjab

He said cases of the disease were recorded in the winter every year but this year their number was dangerously high and coping with the issue had become a challenge for the health authorities.

The official said at least 609 cases of pneumonia had been recorded in Lahore this year, while the figure for the whole province was 4,500.

According to sources, it is estimated that 112 deaths have occurred due to pneumonia in Punjab, 55 patients are currently admitted to the Children’s Hospital in Lahore.

Pneumonia patients are also admit to the Jinnah, Services, Lahore General, Ganga Ram and other government and private hospitals in Lahore.

Patients of viral and chest infections, as well as cough are also being admitted to hospitals daily in large numbers with the OPDs also crowded.

Punjab Extended Programme on Immunisation Director Dr Mukhtar Ahmad said the risk of pneumonia this year was serious due to the weather conditions, including fog, smog, low temperature and also lack of rain.

It is an infection and increases in January, so the people should take precautionary measures and care to protect themselves from cold weather. The doctor said 30 types of germs caused pneumonia and 15 per cent of the lives claimed by it the world over were children.

He said the pneumonia afflicting children in the city was of a viral kind, so it could spread to other kids from the patients.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2024.