Pakistan: Nine suspected AIDS cases reported in October

A Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) monitoring report on Friday said nine suspected cases of AIDS were reported in Gujrat district in October.

FAFEN monitors gathered statistics from 73 districts across Pakistan from the offices of Executive District Officer (EDO)/Health - 27 in Punjab, 14 in Sindh, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 11 in Balochistan along with the office of Health Management Information System in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and the Agency Surgeon Health (ASH) in two districts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

The report said seven cases of polio were confirmed - three in Killa Abdullah district in Balochistan, one each in Rahimyar Khan and Vehari districts of Punjab and two in Kamber Shahdadkot district in Sindh. Moreover, six cases of probable poliomyelitis, five in Gujrat and one in Bhakkar, were reported during the monitored month.

The report said the health office in Lahore district reported 9,000 cases of dengue, whereas 452 were reported in nine districts elsewhere in the country. However it added that since hospitals in Lahore also cater to patients from surrounding rural areas, the high number of dengue cases is understandable.

The report said Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) were the most commonly reported in October, constituting 54% of all reported diseases, followed by 16% cases of diarrhea and dysentery, 14% of other diseases, 12% of scabies and 4% of gastroenteritis.

ARIs, scabies and diarrhea and dysentery were recorded in each of the 10 districts reporting diseases in the highest numbers. While gastroenteritis was the fifth most commonly reported disease in 73 districts, it was reported by only three of the 10 districts reporting diseases in highest numbers, and malaria was only reported by one (Bahawalpur district).

The report said Bahawalpur district was the most affected by diseases, reporting 143,833 cases, followed by Lahore and Rahimyar Khan with 111,148 and 98,169 cases.

There were 2,149 cases of maternal, infant and child mortality during the observed month. Twenty-seven districts reported 1,458 cases of infant mortality. Of these, 1,334 were recorded in 21 districts in Punjab, 75 in six districts in KP, 36 in Sindh's four districts and 13 in three districts in Balochistan.

On the other hand, out of 552 cases of child mortality reported in 15 districts, 531 were in nine districts in Punjab, 10 in Sindh's three districts, eight in one district in KP and three in two districts in Balochistan. - PPI