Double the previous statistic, as many as 10,831 new cases of tuberculosis have been reported in state-run healthcare facilities in 35 districts across Pakistan during February 2011, data collected by FAFEN’s monitors revealed on Thursday.
What is alarming is that 86 percent of these cases were reported in 18 districts of Punjab only. The number of confirmed cases of TB reported showed a staggering increase from the 4,910 cases reported in the previous month.
FAFEN Monitors collected the data of disease cases from district health offices in 64 districts for February 2011. Executive District Officer (EDO)/Health offices in 24 districts of Punjab, 18 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 13 districts in Sindh and 7 districts in Balochistan, as well as the office of the Agency Surgeon Health (ASH) in FR Peshawar, and that of the office of Health Management Information System (HMIS) in ICT shared the requested information with FAFEN Monitors.
Incidence of malaria decreased in February as compared to the preceding month, but it continued to be the most-recorded disease, data available to FAFEN showed. Malaria constituted 92 percent of the total 80,367 reported cases of viral diseases in the country in February 2011. This means that overall cases of viral diseases can be significantly reduced if malaria is controlled.
Although a reprieve can be expected due to the extreme heat of the coming summer months in many parts of the country, preventive measures such as mosquito nets, repellants, and insecticides should still be used to keep mosquitoes at bay. Malaria was most notable in February 2011 in Sindh, where 13 districts reported 57 percent of all malaria cases recorded nationwide.
The number of reported cases of probable poliomyelitis has also jumped from the previous month. The disease has been reported in monitored districts of Punjab for the first time since November 2010. A total of 47 cases of probable poliomyelitis were reported, thirty seven in Khushab and eight in DG Khan districts of Punjab, and two in Umerkot district of Sindh, according to report.
In line with trends observed in previous months, acute respiratory infections (ARIs) were the most reported set of diseases, making 63 percent of all reported cases of disease followed by diarrhea and dysentery taken together (12 percent), scabies (11 percent), malaria (5 percent) and gastroenteritis (4 percent), according to the FAFEN’s health scan.
