ISLAMABAD, Sept 29 (NNN-APP) – Over a month after devastating floods, flood water is still stagnant in parts of Pakistan, due to which, the calamity-hit people, including children, are suffering waterborne and viral diseases, local media reported yesterday.
Citing sources from the health department, ARY News said, at least 58,616 people have been infected by various infectious diseases, in the flood-hit areas of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan provinces.
The viral infections mainly include diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis, malaria, dengue, and respiratory disease, said the report.
Health officials and experts said, at a recent meeting that, there is an urgent need to launch massive vaccination drives, in the flood-hit areas, to save the lives of people, including a large number of pregnant women and children, who are at risk of dying due to cholera, typhoid, Hepatitis E and other preventable diseases, local reports said.
The experts said, there are an estimated 128,000 pregnant women in flood-hit areas, and over 42,000 of them are expected to give birth in the next three months, but due to Hepatitis E viral infection, many of them are feared to lose their babies or even die themselves, the reports added.– NNN-APP
