LAHORE: Punjab Caretaker Health Minister Prof Dr Javed Akram has warned of rising cases of pneumonia among the children across the province, saying the most-affected patients are aged under one year.

Talking to the media at the University of Chlid Health Sciences (UCHS) here on Tuesday, he said the National Institute of Health (NIH) has issued guidelines on pneumonia and whooping cough.

UCHS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Masood Sadiq, Children Hospital Medical Director Prof Dr Tipu Sultan, Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Junaid Rasheed and Pediatric Medicine department Chairman Prof Dr Javed Iqbal were also present.

Prof Rasheed gave a detailed presentation on pneumonia in children. The experts talked about prevention of pneumonia.

Urges parents to get their children vaccinated

“All kinds of medicines and immunisations related to pneumonia and diphtheria are available in abundance at the Children’s Hospital, Lahore,” Prof Akram claimed.

He said the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) advisory on diphtheria has been discussed at a meeting.

“The wave of pneumonia occurs every winter and especially affects the children under five years of age”, the minister said, adding because of having low immunity children usually catch the disease and such cases rise in January.

The statistics regarding pneumonia and whooping cough in Punjab were not alarming, he said.

The minister asked the mothers not to deprive their children of breast feeding, as it reduces the chances of breast cancer.

Prof Akram said as cases of pneumonia among children rise in January, parents should ensure that their children get fully vaccinated.

The health minister also talked about the ongoing development works, saying 113 government hospitals of Punjab, including Children’s Hospital, Lahore, were being revamped. He said the Children’s Hospital is being revamped to provide modern medical facilities to the patients.

Saying that new beds have also been provided to the hospital, Prof Akram added that around 13 departments of the facility, including emergency, endocrinology, medical, eye and ENT, will be completely revamped by Jan 31.

He said the patients’ data is being collected at the Children Hospital Lahore under HIMS system.

There is no medical store at the Children’s Hospital Lahore, because all kinds of medicines are being provided free of cost to the patients, he added.

Prof Dr Masood Sadiq said the parents should immediately take their children to hospital if their breathing is fast or they feel sleepy.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2024