Cholera confirmed in Pakistan flood disaster
A case of the deadly, waterborne disease cholera has been confirmed in Pakistan’s flood-ravaged northwest, and aid workers expect it is not isolated, the UN said today.
The chilling discovery underscores the latest threat to the millions whose lives have been disrupted by the crisis and came as new flood surges hit the south.
Pakistan toned down its usually festive Independence Day celebrations today in light of the flooding disaster, which has battered its economy and undermined its political stability.
The colourful, fireworks-heavy ceremony normally held at the presidency at midnight August 14, the anniversary of Pakistan’s creation and independence from Britain in 1947, was cancelled.
But Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani took part in a sombre flag-raising in the morning, and TV channels broadcast stories about the country’s early years.
Government leaders were expected to spend much of the day visiting flood victims. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also was expected to visit soon, possibly over the weekend.
About 1,500 people have died in the floods, which have affected directly or indirectly 14 million people. Aid workers have warned that diseases spread in the aftermath could raise the death toll.
One case of cholera had been confirmed in Mingora, the main town in the northwest’s Swat Valley, UN spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said today. Other cases were suspected, and aid workers are now responding to all those exhibiting acute watery diarrhoea as if it was cholera, Giuliano said.
Cholera is “an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae”, according to the World Health Organisation. It can lead to severe dehydration and death without prompt treatment, and containing cholera outbreaks is considered a high priority following floods.
The crisis began in late July, when unusually heavy monsoon rains tore through the country from its mountainous northwest. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed. The economy’s biggest industry, agriculture, has been severely hit, with an estimated 1.7 million acres (nearly 700,000 hectares) of farmland wiped out.
Fresh flood waves swelled the River Indus today, threatening nearby cities, towns and villages in southern Sindh province, said Mohammed Ajmal Shad, a senior meteorologist. The Indus was already more than 15 miles wide at some points – 25 times wider than during normal monsoon seasons.
Authorities were trying to evacuate or warn people in Jacobabad, Hyderabad, Thatta, Ghotki, Larkana and other areas. Already, many flood victims are living in muddy camps or overcrowded government buildings, while thousands more are sleeping in the open next to their cows, goats and whatever possessions they managed to drag with them.
Officials have said the country will need billions to rebuild after the waters recede.
The damage to the Pakistani government’s credibility, which was already shaky, may be even harder to repair, especially after fury caused by President Asif Ali Zardari’s decision to visit Europe as the crisis was unfolding.
The prime minister defended the government’s response to the flooding disaster in his speech today.
“This natural disaster has caused destruction at such a huge level that the government help (to survivors) looks insufficient,” Gilani said, adding that rescue workers were doing their best to reach all victims.
