May 29, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 12, 1428

PESHAWAR, May 28: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed serious concern over the epidemic of gastroenteritis in the NWFP amid reports that the disease has been affecting children.

A WHO official said on Monday that of the total 271 patients of gastroenteritis admitted to the government-run hospitals 60 were infants with their ages ranging between 2 and 10 months.

He said the disease had affected 189 people in Mansehra districts, 50 among them children.

He said that about 60 people suffering from gastroenteritis had been admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital. Ten of them were infants, he added.

The Khyber Teaching Hospital received about 40 patients, including eight children below 10.

The official said that WHO had established an early warning system in each hospitals of the province which would help health officials know about the epidemics and subsequently they could make arrangements to cope with the problem.

He said the world health agency had also started providing training to medical officers regarding the disease early warning system.

Meanwhile, local paediatricians have expressed concern over the situation. They say that the children need proper attention because they are most vulnerable to the disease.

A paediatrician said mothers should take extreme care while breastfeeding their infants.

An official of the NWFP health department said that they had established an emergency cell in the directorate general of health. But the cell was not receiving reports regarding gastroenteritis from the district level hospitals, he added.

He said that the department had also established health management information system to collect data about several diseases. However, the lack of funds had brought the system to a standstill, he added.