The United Nations says that water-borne diseases are becoming a grave concern for flood victims in Pakistan, as 36,000 suspected cases of potentially fatal acute watery diarrhoea have been reported so far.
The UN has also warned that up to 3.5 million children could be in danger of contracting deadly diseases. The list of diseases is growing every day and includes watery diarrhoea, cholera and upper respiratory infections. Estimates put the current flood death toll at around 2,000 but this number is expected to rise as more people succumb to the diseases.
Earlier, reports confirmed that five children died of gastroenteritis in Pishin Balochistan, and another three died in Karachi on Wednesday.
Health officials are warning of a second wave of deaths from water-borne infections as a total of nine deaths have been recorded in Sindh due to diseases. Children, women and the elderly are especially at risk as the epidemic is spreading through contaminated flood water. A red alert has been sent to the World Health Organization by the Health Ministry for starting emergency treatment to contain the growing number of disease cases.
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