At least 750 people have been hospitalised with cholera and gastroenteritis in Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) Astore district, the district health officer (DHO) told Dawn.com on Wednesday.
Astore DHO Dr Nawab Ahmed Khan said that the 750 cases were reported over four days, though 90 per cent of them are now under control.
“I applied 60 drips to a single patient from morning until night,” Dr Khan said. “Several drips were also administered even after the patient left the hospital.”
On August 30, Astore’s District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) reported a sudden influx of gastroenteritis patients displaying symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting, according to a report by the deputy commissioner, available with Dawn.com.
The report stated that the patients hailed from the areas of Pattipura, Lous, Chongrah, Eidgah, Government Colony, Gorikot, Parishing and Shounter. No fatalities were reported as of today.
“[A] preliminary medical opinion indicated a waterborne source,” the report stated.’
On August 30, 80 cases were reported at DHQ Astore, with 150 patients admitted the following day. On August 31, eight cases were referred to facilities in Gilgit. The report showed that by September 1, the number of patients admitted at DHQ Astore and medical camps rose to a cumulative 450.
According to the DC’s report, water tanks and supply lines were inspected between August 30 and 31, with supplies suspended overnight “as a precaution”. Tanks were cleaned and disinfected on August 31, with four out of eight samples testing positive for cholera.
In light of this, the report noted, the district administration temporarily arranged for the distribution of water tankers and bottled water. Additionally, standard operating procedures were put in place to regularly chlorinate water tanks.
“District Astore has moved from rapid escalation to early stabilisation, with case numbers declining today,” the report read. “The response architecture — medical surge, water-sanitation interventions, network enforcement, targeted risk communication and multi-agency coordination — is fully activated.”
The report noted that the core risk remains infrastructure-related contamination and historic chlorination lapses, which are “being addressed on priority with defined accountability”.
Amid the monsoon season, GB has been hit by severe flooding[1]. Hundreds of people in the region have fallen victim to water-borne diseases owing to a severe shortage of clean drinking water.
“Diamer, Shigar, Skardu, Astore, and Gilgit are most affected by poor and unsafe water, with the people of these districts being admitted to hospitals and clinics every day,” said GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq.
A government report said children under the age of five have also begun falling victim to cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid and pneumonia, among other epidemic diseases.
References
- ^ severe flooding (www.dawn.com)