LAHORE: Amid conflicting reports regarding the outbreak of gastroenteritis in the provincial metropolis, the hospitals witnessed an extraordinary rush of patients suffering severe complications of the waterborne diseases.

The Mayo Hospital, Lahore General Hospital (LGH), Jinnah Hospital and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital have witnessed a spike in the number of patients while the management of Services Hospital said its patient numbers were as per routine.

“We are receiving a good number of patients with stomach infection, which may be the result of massive rains in the city,” said a spokesperson for the LGH.

Quoting a senior medical consultant at the hospital, the spokesperson said the majority of hospitalised patients were children.

“We are receiving a large number of patients with gastroenteritis but many of them with kidney failure and stroke, which requires epidemiological investigation by public health experts,” said Dr Salman Kazmi, a senior medical consultant at Mayo Hospital.

He said every medical unit of the hospital was facing a very unusual situation due to the long queues of patients with gastro.

“I believe that there may be an outbreak of cholera in the city which has led to the extraordinary increase in the number of gastro patients.”

Dr Kazmi, who is also secretary general of the Young Doctors Association Pakistan, added that cholera outbreaks usually occurred as a sudden spike in severe diarrhoea and dehydration caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria from contaminated water or food.

Other contributing factors to a cholera outbreak include poor hygiene practices, unsafe drinking water and contaminated food.

“Even the emergency ward of Mayo Hospital has witnessed a high influx of patients with stroke, low blood pressure and complications from diarrhoea,” Kazmi said.

He added that he could not give an official number of patients reported at the hospital due to faulty procedures in the data registration system.

Services Hospital Principal Prof Zohra denied the reportsof outbreak of diarrhoea or gastroenteritis, saying everything was normal in the medical units of her teaching institute.

Dr Muhammad Arshad, a former senior consultant at Shaikh Zayed Hospital, said every year hospitals and clinics see a sharp rise in patients suffering from stomach infections, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever during the monsoon season.

Most of these illnesses were caused by contaminated water and food, he also said, adding that the city’s major hospitals had been facing a rush of patients with gastroenteritis for the past two weeks or so.

Arshad said the illness might be a result of improper food storage, exposure to street food and unsafe drinking water, adding that health authorities must investigate the situation and take measures.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026