Rain in Lahore and several other areas of Punjab has resulted in an increase in cases of pneumonia in the province, with 490 new patients registered during the past 24 hours.
Along with the number of patients, the fatalities have also increased.
According to sources in the Punjab health authorities, 14 deaths caused by pneumonia have been confirmed in the province during the past two days.
The majority of the victims are children aged up to eight years, who accounted for a large proportion of patients rushing to the outpatient and emergency departments of hospitals.
On the other hand, the Punjab government and its health departments have not yet come up with an urgent strategy to cope with the situation.
According to doctors, an alarming situation has emerged in the hospitals because of the rains and cold wave in parts of the province, including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Jhelum and South Punjab region. The spell of rains and cold wave has continued in the areas for the past two days.
Although the situation with respect to smog and air pollution has improved because of the rains, the temperature has dropped, resulting in an increase in the pneumonia affliction.
Punjab has been in the grip of the disease for the past several weeks.
Pneumonia has proved to deadly in the province during the ongoing season, with 393 deaths attributed to the disease during the wave.
At least 63 deaths caused by the disease have been recorded in Lahore during the past two months.
The provincial government had also extended the winter vacations to protect students from the risk of pneumonia.
Read Multan’s Children’s Complex grapples with rising pneumonia cases
The situation was moving towards normalcy after the peak cold season subsided but the fresh spell of rains once again caused a spur of pneumonia case.
At least 490 pneumonia cases were confirmed across Punjab on Monday.
The highest number of patients was reported from the government and private hospitals in Lahore at 134.
During the season, as many as 29,299 patients have been afflicted by pneumonia in the province, including 6,324 in Lahore.
The cases have been reported from almost across the province but the districts adjoining Lahore and parts of the South Punjab, including Bahawalpur, have been the worst hit.
Despite calls by health experts, the provincial authorities failed to play and effective role to curb he disease.
A senior provincial health official told The Express Tribune that around 90% of the pneumonia patients were children. The official also complained of lack of effective steps by the authorities to cope with the issue. He said the response of the authorities concerned had been limited to convening meetings and issuing statements rather than taking action to address the plight of the patients.
“The weather in Punjab has again turned cold and the parents should take care of the health of the children and protect them from low temperature,” Mayo Hospital’s Senior Medical officer Dr Ghulam Fareed said.
He called for special care of newborn babies and their timely vaccination.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 20th 2024.
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