HYDERABAD: A polio worker has died from a suspected waterborne disease in Hyderabad as dozens of patients flood local hospitals — with the city reeling from temperatures approaching 46°C and growing water shortages across the district.

Naheed, a lady health worker deployed on polio duties, died at Liaquat University Hospital (LUH). Health authorities said she suffered from pre-existing conditions and apparently died of cardiac failure linked to gastritis, but a team of senior doctors has been dispatched to review her case records.

Nearly 50 patients have presented at Bhitai Hospital in Latifabad in recent days, most from the densely populated Unit 11 and 12 areas, complaining of stomach ailments. District health officer Dr Pir Ghulam Hussain insisted no formal disease “outbreak” had been declared, attributing many cases to the consumption of rich, fried meat during Eidul Azha.

“People tend to eat heavily spiced and fried meat on the eve of Eid, which causes complications including diarrhoea and gastroenteritis,” he told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026