After Devastating Flood Now Pakistan Fight with Waterborne Diseases

             A new study has found that an outbreak of cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid has been reported in Sindh after a flood in the city of Lahore. In a year which saw floods across the country as well as one of its worst ever on record, Pakistan is now fighting with waterborne diseases like cholera. The government’s main focus this time is to eradicate water-borne disease, but experts tell us that it also needs to take a harder look at what they are doing with water. They should be looking at ways to make treatment more effective and cost effective. This includes increasing the number and types of antibiotics as well as finding other ways to get rid of leftover sewage and waste-water to reduce pollution. Pakistan has more than just water on their hands right now and will need to increase those resources too. So, how do we get back on track? How can we keep up with our fight against waterborne illnesses?

Cholera Symptoms

“Water is necessary for life; without it, there can be no survival,” said Dr Bina Khan, Director of Karachi Pediatric Institute at Ziba University and lead author of a paper published in Plos One. “This work, however, was done under extreme circumstances, during the second wave of Cholera infection during the lockdown period. People were not able to engage in social networks or even go out and have fun. No longer were they allowed to hang out with friends,” he added. “Many people suffered from depression, anxiety, fatigue, and fever. We’ve noticed a shift in the population from young children to older adults,” continued Dr Khan.

According to many studies conducted by Pakistan’s Health department, there are around 500,000 cases of typhoid each year worldwide. In addition to this, there have been 50 million infections of polio and 4 million hospitalizations per year. However, according to the World Health Organization, a child dies of poliovirus every hour. There are about 30,000 infections each year out of which 1.3 million are treated.

As a result of these numbers and more, countries all over the world are trying to find solutions and come up with better ways of tackling the growing problem of waterborne infections. According to reports, Pakistan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries (MAFLF) is creating policies for promoting awareness of waterborne diseases among farmers in order to prevent them from spreading and spreading this dangerous infectious infection. These policies include making sure that every family has access to clean water and proper sanitation facilities. As for now, water disinfection services are being launched where available and people are encouraged to educate themselves about their personal hygiene. Pakistan has three rivers – one of them is now full of stagnant sewage and feces. It took less than two months to create this by dumping it into the river. It was estimated that the level is around 10 feet higher than before. Due to the fact that contaminated wastewater goes directly off the river, and if any birds or fish might eat it, this can result in mortality and a higher risk of human-to-human transmission.

The Clean Up That Needs to Be Done Immediately

The current situation might seem alarming, however, there must be some measure of urgency in the minds of Pakistanis as this could mean an increase in morbidity as well. “The most important factor for containing such a deadly virus is prevention rather than cure,” stressed Dr Khan. He said that healthcare systems in Pakistan should be geared towards this sort of scenario. Even the best medical technologies do not save lives or guarantee a prolonged recovery. “As long as human beings want to live and enjoy life, then the only solution is to stop the spread and spread of these germs. Pakistan is not immune towards getting infected with water borne pathogens, therefore, the key thing for preventing further occurrence is to ensure that the populations are vaccinated or immunized against any kind of bacterial or viral infection. If that can happen, then Pakistan can successfully battle water-borne diseases,” concluded Dr. Khan. It’s time for these leaders to give the people who may become carriers the tools they require to stay alive, healthy, and happy. India as well is struggling with similar issues and continues to struggle for control. On January 6th, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a series of measures aimed at bringing down mortality rates for meningitis and diphtheria. Under this scheme, funds are given for free health care to all adults, while providing cash incentives for families with school children. This scheme was initially rolled out in Uttar Pradesh, and currently, 3,000 vaccination sites were set up around the state. Along with this are plans for building 14 thousand more centers from scratch. In 2019, as much as 35 % of India’s children went through the measles vaccination program. Despite this, India still leads in terms of childhood deaths compared to its neighbors. It has been estimated that between 2000 and 2016, nearly 27 000 children died of measles in the country. While this is far from ideal, Pakistan is trying at least to address the issue at hand.

How Can We Get Back On Track?

Despite its location and terrain, Pakistan is actually blessed with several natural resources that would help combat waterborne diseases, especially when combined with good agricultural and animal farming practices. The following are some of them:

Water Resources: From sources like glaciers and rivers, snowfields, lakes, etc., water is abundant here. All things considered, India gets about 50% of its fresh supply from groundwater. Also, it is one of the biggest producers of crude oil and gas. Hence, it takes a lot more than just pure water to do so.

Natural Disasters: According to news reports, this time around there was a flooding event which caused millions of tons of soil and water to cover Karachi. Because all the water sources were covered by thick mud, it was almost impossible to carry out any type of activity, especially cleaning the streets. What made it worse was the rains started washing away buildings, pavements, roads and entire structures that were already damaged. For this reason, the affected areas have undergone massive cleanup operations.

People: Since Pakistan’s recent spate of floods, the people haven’t been very active either. But, due to bad weather and the fear of catching any infection, the people tend to avoid going out and do everything possible to avoid exposing themselves to danger.

So, let’s see what we can do now.

Firstly, it is essential to get used to wearing PPE (personal protection equipment). The common ones will include surgical masks, disposable respirators, ear plugs, nose pads, face shields, respiratory protection gears and other devices. Masks that don’t fit perfectly will probably irritate your mouth or eyes. Make sure you practice proper eye hygiene. It is also good not to panic just because the doctors won’t let you go out if you aren’t fully protected. Ensure that you wash your hands regularly. Also, remember that it doesn’t just stop with the people who’ve contracted a disease – if it’s an open field where you can wander around freely without being careful, then you might infect someone else. Take precautions now!

 

Thanks' for reading.                                                      M. Mohsin Khan