KARACHI: A Nine-member delegation of senior doctors of the Pakistan Medical Association from Karachi, under the leadership of Dr S.M Qaisar Sajjad, visited flood relief areas of Mirpurkhas, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Sindhri, Tando Jam, Barhoon Mail, Moula Katyar and Vasrio Village.
PMA's Branches have established medical camps in these affected areas for flood victims. The delegation carried essential medicines and other necessities distributed at these PMA's Medical Camps. The doctors from Karachi, Dr Zaman Baluch, General Secretary PMA Sindh, and local doctors examined patients and provided them with medicine.
During the visit, we found that water-borne diseases (cholera, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, vomiting, typhoid), mosquito-borne diseases (dengue, malaria), throat infection, conjunctivitis (eyes infection) and above all, gastroenteritis is rapidly increasing. The children are mostly suffering from gastroenteritis and throat infections. There are an increasing number of cases of dengue.
PMA requests philanthropists, pharmaceutical companies and all people to donate us medicine immediately. Flood affectees have been rescued from the flood, and now we must rescue them from diseases and hunger.
Urgently required medicines in flood-affected areas are antibiotics, antipyretics, pain killers, medicine for diarrhoea, vomiting, anti malarial drugs, skin diseases, eye drops, ORS, water purification tablets (chlorine), mineral water and mosquito repellents. These medicines are instantly needed to treat the patients in affected areas.
Meanwhile, PMA, in collaboration with the Pakistan Eye Bank Society, visited the remote area of Lakhra in Baluchistan. It wasn't easy to travel to such a remote area. Doctors examined 970 patients in Lakhra and provided them with medicine.
PMA believed that at this time, they have to protect people from preventable diseases like water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases by providing healthy food and safe water with mosquito nets and repellents.