LARKANA, Feb 25: The local health officials, expressing concern over the reoccurrence of Leishmanisis in Larkana district and other parts of the province, said that it all happened due to the incomplete preventive phase of the WHO’s programme.

Dr Farooqur Rehman Soomro told this correspondent on Tuesday that the district health office in line with WHO protocol had completed data collection and curative phases successfully in the district and the findings were submitted to the WHO.

The executive district officer, Health, Dr Abdul Wahab Wadho, in a letter to the district coordination officer, Larkana, stated that the preventive phase that had been left incomplete might be the reason which led to the reoccurrence of Leishmanisis not only in Larkana but also in other parts of the province.

The health officials had proposed seeking assistance from the department of agriculture to kill rodents and a seminar involving health, agriculture and WHO should be held to address the issue.

Dr Soormo told this correspondent that the WHO had provided 200 injections and the department of pharmacy, Gomal University, had provided 500 ointments for applying on infections, and added that the stocks had now been exhausted while Leishmanisis cases were on the rise in the area.

He said that the most affected areas were Kambar, Shahdadkot and Warah sub-divisions; however, the cases were being referred from Sukkur division, and adjoining areas of Balochistan to the CMC Hospital, Larkana, where a centre works.

He said that at an average 10 to 15 patients suffering from the disease visited the OPD of the centre on a daily basis, and added that if medicines were not provided in time and the preventive phase was not completed soon the disease might turn into an epidemic.