Diarrhoea among children assumes alarming proportion

Around 700 cases being reported daily in Karachi

MN Report

KARACHI- With the rise in mercury in the city, diarrhoea among children is assuming alraming proportion and it could be gauged from the fact that around 700 children suffering from the disease are reporting to various hospitals of Sindh government and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation daily, it emerged.   

Attributing water-borne dieases, especially diarrhoea to contaminated water, poor sanitation condition, unhygienic foods and decayed fruits, Pakistan Paediatrics Association’s (PPA) president Prof (Dr) Iqbal Memon said generally 20 to 25 cases of diarrhoea are reported in hospitals daily, but in summer season such cases multiply significantly at health care facilities.

Currenty a large number of diarrhoea cases are being reported daily at different public sector hospitals, including Civil Hospital Karachi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center and National Institute of Child Health.
He said that of about 25 million diarrhoea cases reported, each year, across Sindh, 30 to 40 per cent of them are brought to government hospitals for treatment.

“Roughly around 25,000 children die from diarrhoea, annually, in the province,” he said, adding that children between six months to two-year age are most vulnerable to the disease.
According to him, around 80,000 children die from diarrhoea annually in Pakistan and of them 30pc are reported from Sindh province.
Prominent paediatrician, Prof Jamal Raza, who is associated with NICH, said that diarrhoea cases in the city have increased in the last few days owing to rise in temperature.   

He said peak season of diarrhoea and other infectious diseases has begun and it will continue by the end of summer season.

Prof Raza confirmed that over 100 diarrhoea cases are being reported in the hospital’s OPD daily and a good number of them are admitted for treatment.
He said that number of OPD patients in the hospital have also jumped from 500 to 700 as the growth of germs usually increase in summer as compared to other seasons. He said that most of children of overall reported cases either suffer from diarrhoea or other infectious diseases.
He was of the view that potable water and mother feeding was  must for keep children healthy in the current season.
Meanwhile, sources at CHK Diarrhoea Treatment Unit said around 50 to 80 diarrhoea cases are being reported daily in the hospital.