In a Malir village, a woman passed away from a gastroenteritis infection, and over the past few days, the illness has sickened hundreds of people in the city, it was revealed on Tuesday.
In a Malir village, a woman passed away from a gastroenteritis infection, and over the past few days, the illness has sickened hundreds of people in the city, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Health experts told the media that the situation appeared to have arisen primarily as a result of the consumption of contaminated food and water combined with the unhygienic conditions that soon followed the animal slaughter that was carried out throughout the city during Eidul Azha.
According to sources, the severity of the situation could be judged by the fact that in less than a week, more than 4,200 patients had visited the Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), The Indus Hospital, and the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), and a village in district Malir was dealing with an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
They claimed that the woman, who was in her 40s, passed away from gastroenteritis in Sheedi Goth, Malir, where numerous patients had visited the Memon Goth Hospital in recent days complaining of frequent bowel movements and vomiting.
Mehar Khursheed, a spokeswoman for the Sindh health department, confirmed the death by saying: “The woman, who also had diabetes, was brought dead to the hospital.”
However, the health department attributed the outbreak of cholera and acute watery diarrhoea to the village’s supply of tainted water.
According to Ms. Khursheed, the health department has taken a number of actions to combat the gastroenteritis infection, including establishing medical camps in the neighbourhood, gathering water samples, and raising awareness about prevention.
She stated: “The local government is responsible for ensuring clean water supplies in regards to the gastroenteritis cases reported in the other parts of the city. In order to raise awareness and ensure that the water supply chain is safe for consumption, the Sindh health department has engaged it.
Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, a senior general practitioner, stressed that it is the government’s duty to ensure proper disposal of solid waste and the provision of clean drinking water to the general public while examining 13 gastroenteritis patients at his clinic in Kaemari on Monday.
“People must exercise caution when it comes to hygiene and proper food preparation. According to him, gastroenteritis, which is typically characterised by diarrhoea and vomiting, can result in fatal dehydration.
Dr. Kalbe Hussain, head of the emergency department at the CHK, said in a statement to the media that although cases have decreased now, patients are still coming in with complaints of vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal/stomach cramps.
“On Tuesday, we have already treated 50 patients at the department, compared to the 345 patients we saw yesterday. The majority of the patients, who were adult men, were all discharged after receiving treatment. During the Eid holidays, we had over 2,000 patients, 700 of whom reported on the second day of Eid.
He clarified that the majority of patients’ medical histories showed that they had consumed meat that was either improperly cooked or contaminated, as well as unboiled water.
Dr. Saima Imran, director of the JPMC’s emergency room, revealed that during the Eid holidays, patient turnover was extremely high, reaching 1,800 in a single day.
“It’s challenging to provide specific information on a patient’s illness because the hospital lacks a digital system to maintain a patient’s record. You could say that two to three percent of all cases involved food poisoning, diarrhoea, and gastroenteritis, she said.
A representative for the Indus Hospital stated that between June 29 (the first day of Eid) and July 2, 188 patients visited the facility with complaints of gastroenteritis infection or food poisoning.