28 September 2004	Tuesday	12 Shaban 1425

ISLAMABAD, Sept 27: A total of 682 cases of acute watery diarrhoea have been treated in the out-patient departments (OPD) of major hospitals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, a government announcement said on Monday.

Out of the total number, 238 patients were admitted to hospitals, it added. The announcement said so far 21 water and 52 stool samples had been received from different hospitals of the twin cities and processed at the National Institute of Health (NIH).

The NIH was also providing technical expertise to the health departments of the twin cities and other institutions. It said the epidemic investigation cell of the public health laboratories division of the NIH was monitoring the outbreak of diarrhoea and also compiling the data.

The NIH team had also visited the affected areas and the admitted cases at the District Headquarters Hospital Rawalpindi on September 9 after receiving telephone calls from the residents.

On the directives of the ministry of health, an operation room was established at the NIH where the trend of the epidemic and the applied control intervention were being monitored.

Guidelines for the management and control of the acute watery diarrhoea were also sent to all the hospitals and the district health offices. The epidemic, which started in the first week of September, is under control, the announcement said, adding that the outbreak had been contained and there was a significant decrease in the cases being reported to the NIH from different institutions.

On September 25, the figure in the daily cumulative report showed only five admissions and 16 out patient cases of acute watery diarrhoea in the hospitals of Rawalpindi. The overall pattern of admissions in hospitals reflected a mild to moderate severity epidemic of acute watery diarrhoea, which appeared to be over now, it added.