LAHORE/DG KHAN: Pneumonia continues to take a heavy toll on children as 12 kids reportedly died during the last 24 hours across Punjab, taking the total number of deaths to 220 since Jan 1.

According to official data, 1,077 new pneumonia cases have been reported during the last 24 hours in Punjab and a majority of the children are under five.

Out of the total 12 deaths (during the last 24 hours), three were reported in Gujranwala, two each in Rawalpindi and Bahawalpur, one each in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura etc.

Similarly, of the new pneumonia cases, 251 were reported from Lahore, taking the total number of reported cases since Jan 1 to 1,821.

Most of the minors were not vaccinated

Punjab caretaker Health Minister Prof Javed Akram confirmed the deaths and new cases, saying the two major factors — extreme weather and pathetic rate of mother feeding — has contributed to the shocking spike.

He said unfortunately many women in Pakistan have stopped nourishing their children by avoiding mother-feed over multiple reasons while the ratio in Europe is much better.

He said extremely cold and dry conditions, smog and fog have seriously affected the health of kids who have low immunity.

“We got a study conducted at the Children Hospital where kids with pneumonia symptoms were brought not only from all over Punjab but also from other provinces,” Prof Akram said.

He said according to the report, 72 per cent of children were suffering from pneumonia due to viral infection caused by various viruses.

“The mortality rate is 1.3 among the children,” he said adding that pneumonia has been the leading cause of death all over the world among children and people above 60.

The health minister believes the low vaccination rate in Punjab is another cause of such cases.

“Punjab is experiencing in late February the extreme polluted weather conditions which has never been recorded during the last 15 years or so”, Prof Javed Akram said, adding rains were the only remedy.“I would suggest women to nourish their kids with mother feed in well-ventilated rooms”, the minister said.

Keeping the children in rooms, where gas heaters are used, carries risk to their health, he warned.

SOUTH PUNJAB: Of the 220 deaths recorded since Jan 1 this year, South Punjab’s public sector hospitals have recorded 152 deaths, that include 43 children under five.

At least 3,000 have been discharged after recovery at the health facilities of South Punjab, reveals a data collected by the health secretariat of South Punjab.

It said 14 deaths were recorded by the Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital in DG Khan and 15 deaths at the rest of health facilities of the district. Professor Dr Shakeel Ghazi, head of paeds at the Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College, told Dawn most of the children who died were not vaccinated, malnourished and had poor immunity for lack of breast-feeding.

Ghazi Medical College Principal Dr Asif Quraishi told Dawn that all health facilities were available at the Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital to handle pneumonia cases.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2024