UPPER DIR:  Seasonal Pneumonia in remote villages of Upper Dir District has left at least 20 children dead in the last two weeks, prompting emergency teams from the World Health Organisation to be dispatched to the areas to cope with the epidemic.

Local villagers told Dawn.Com that the Thall, Komrat and Lamoti areas of Union Council Kalkot have been the worst hit and scores of children have died in the village and the surrounding hilly cluster.

According to the locals, some families have even lost more than child as a result of the fast-spreading virus.

A resident of Thall told Dawn.Com that announcements had been made on loudspeakers in mosques that all children with symptoms of the disease should be shifted to local hospitals and Basic Health Units.

Another resident Aurangzeb Khan said that scores of children who died because of the ‘cold’ may have succumbed to pneumonia which went undeted.

According to reports, the most number of deaths have been reported from Thall, Komrat and Lamoti areas.

The local sources also added the actual number of deaths maybe much higher than the reported deaths.

The Executive District Health Officer Upper Dir, Amir Badshah, upon contact said that after reports of pneumonia outbreak, a joint team of health department and WHO had been dispatched to the area.

“There are reported deaths but we can not confirm the number yet, but necessary medicines and the staff has been dispatched to take care of the situation,” he stated.