Six more die from gastroenteritis

QUETTA: Six more children suffering from gastroenteritis died in Quetta and Dera Murad Jamali on Tuesday, increasing the death toll to 57 during the past week.

Three children died in district headquarters hospital where hundreds of affected people had been admitted. “The situation is worse in Dera Murad Jamali. There is a dearth of food and clean drinking water. The death toll may increase considerably,” an official at the hospital said, adding that more doctors had not been sent due to handle the problem.However, a Turkish Field Hospital with equipment and medicine has been established in Dera Murad Jamali.

Separately, two children died in a relief camp in Quetta. Both children were suffering from gastroenteritis and malaria, an official said. The victims belonged to Dera Allahyar.

Another child died from gastroenteritis in Khuzdar. Six people, including a child, suffering from gastroenteritis had been admitted in divisional headquarters hospital Khuzdar two days ago. “A young baby lost his life on Tuesday,” a doctor said when contacted.

Officials said that thousands of people, mostly women and children suffering from gastroenteritis and other diseases have been admitted in government run-hospital in Dera Murad Jamali, Sibi and Quetta, where people are dying every day. The main cases of diseases are said to be unhygienic conditions and dearth of clean drinking water and food. The provincial government has failed to provide doctors in the flood-hit regions. It is also reluctant to dispatch medicines to the Health Department

Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed said that 35 people have died due to diseases so far, of which 23 have died because of gastroenteritis.  (WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT)

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2010.