Latest news with #Sindh
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan reports new polio case in northwest, raising 2025 tally to 12
KARACHI: Pakistan's polio eradication program on Friday said a new wild poliovirus case had been detected in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bringing the total tally of 2025 cases to 12. Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure, making prevention through vaccination critical. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children, are essential to build strong immunity against the virus. The country conducted three nationwide vaccination campaigns in February, April and May, aiming to immunize around 45 million children across Pakistan with the support of over 400,000 frontline workers including 225,000 women vaccinators. 'The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in District Bannu, South Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,' the body said in a statement. 'The 33-month-old male child from Union Council Shamsikhel, District Bannu is the sixth case of polio reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year.' Pakistan has reported 12 polio cases so far this year, including six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four from the southern Sindh province and one each from the populous Punjab province and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Pakistan, one of the last two countries where polio remains endemic along with Afghanistan, has made significant progress in curbing the virus, with annual cases dropping from around 20,000 in the early 1990s to just eight in 2018. However, the country reported an alarmingly high number of 74 cases in 2024, after six in 2023 and only one in 2021. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Thursday claimed that Pakistan has recorded a 99 percent decline in polio cases, as he urged global vaccine organization Gavi to invest more in efforts to 'train and retain' vaccinators. Pakistan launched its polio eradication program in 1994, but its efforts have repeatedly been hindered by widespread vaccine misinformation and resistance from hard-line religious groups who claim immunization campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or a front for espionage. Militant groups have also targeted polio workers and police officials providing them security, often with deadly attacks that have hampered vaccination drives, particularly in the country's remote and conflict-prone regions.
National Post
9 hours ago
- Climate
- National Post
Summer heatwave begins in one of world's hottest cities
One of the world's hottest cities is getting even hotter as summer begins. Temperatures in Jacobabad can reach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) at this time of the year. (AP video by Muhammad Farooq)
Times of Oman
12 hours ago
- Health
- Times of Oman
Pakistan reports three deaths from Congo virus
Islamabad [Pakistan]: Three deaths from the Congo virus have been recorded in Pakistan on Thursday, which include two fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one in Karachi, The Express Tribune reported. The victim in Sindh has been identified as a 25-year-old fisherman from Ibrahim Hyderi, while fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been reported from Karak and North Waziristan. Health officials said Muhammad Zubair, a resident of Malir district, first experienced symptoms like high fever, muscle pain, abdominal discomfort, coughing, diarrhoea, bleeding, and loss of consciousness on June 16. He was admitted to Jinnah Hospital, where doctors suspected he had the Congo virus infection. He was shifted to the Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital due to a lack of specialised treatment facilities, and he died there at 7 am on June 19. The Sindh Health Department has sent an active search and response to the impacted area. Contact tracing efforts have been conducted, with people who were in close contact with the deceased being identified and monitored. So far, no other cases have been reported. Residents and the family of the victim have been advised to follow strict precautionary measures to stop further spread, The Express Tribune reported. The fatality came after another death was reported from the virus earlier this week, when a 42-year-old man from Malir district was taken to Indus Hospital in Korangi on June 16 and died the next day. Two Congo virus patients from Karak and North Waziristan districts died at Hayatabad Medical Complex in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These fatalities have increased the death toll in the province to three. Meanwhile, three more patients infected with the virus are receiving treatment in isolation wards at the hospital. Health Advisor Ehtesham Ali said contact tracing and sanitisation operations have begun at the homes of the deceased and the infected, The Express Tribune reported. He further said that the advisory about the Congo virus was shared with all hospitals in Pakistan before Eid al-Adha, as the increased movement and slaughter of sacrificial animals increase the risk of transmission.
Arab News
16 hours ago
- Health
- Arab News
Saudi Arabia's KSrelief performs over 4,484 successful eye surgeries in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia's King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) performed over 4,484 successful eye surgeries across Pakistan under a voluntary program to provide free medical services to the underprivileged, state-run media reported this week. The state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) reported on Thursday that KSrelief successfully concluded 11 comprehensive eye treatment camps in Pakistan under the 'Noor Saudi Volunteer Program 2025.' These camps, PTV said, were organized in collaboration with the Al-Basar International Foundation and Ibrahim Eye Hospital Karachi. The camps were held to provide free medical services to underprivileged individuals suffering from blindness or other eye-related ailments, it added. These camps were organized in both the urban and rural areas of Pakistan's Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir regions where access to quality eye care services remains limited, PTV said. 'During the campaign, medical teams examined a total of 43,294 patients and performed over 4,484 successful surgeries,' the state television said. 'Additionally, 11,050 eyeglasses were distributed free of charge, along with the provision of prescribed medications to deserving patients.' It said these camps were conducted in various Pakistani cities such as Karachi, Matli, Kandhkot, Shikarpur, Hyderabad, Naseerabad, Kharan, Khuzdar, Jhelum and Rawalakot. The camps enabled thousands of patients to benefit from specialized eye treatments due to which many were able to regain their vision. 'This initiative reflects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strong humanitarian commitment and its dedication to enhancing the lives of people affected by visual impairments,' PTV said. KSrelief has implemented hundreds of projects in Pakistan worth millions of dollars to improve the lives of vulnerable communities. Efforts include emergency relief for natural disasters, and long-term projects addressing food security, health care, education, and shelter. The Saudi charity organization has one of the largest humanitarian budgets available to any aid agency across the world, which has allowed its officials to undertake a wide variety of projects in more than 80 countries. Pakistan is the fifth largest beneficiary of its aid and humanitarian activities and has greatly benefited from its assistance since the 2022 monsoon floods.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan reports first Congo virus death of 2025 in Karachi
KARACHI: A 42-year-old man lost his life after contracting the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF), marking the first confirmed fatality from the virus in Pakistan's southern Sindh province this year, the health department said on Wednesday. The fatality rate for the Congo virus ranges from 10 percent to 40 percent, depending on the quality of health care, timeliness of treatment and the patient's overall health, according to the World Health Organization. The virus, which is endemic in parts of Africa, Europe and Asia, is primarily transmitted through tick bites or contact with the blood or tissues of infected animals. 'First case of Congo virus [has been] reported in Sindh,' the Sindh Health Department said in a statement on Wednesday. '42-year-old male was a resident of District Malir,' it continued. 'The test report came out positive on June 16 and the patient passed away on June 17.' Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province reported 23 Congo virus cases in 2024, with five deaths since January last year. Local medical practitioners said most cases were diagnosed during the summer, when the likelihood of the virus spreading increases, particularly around the Eid Al-Adha festival. The Islamic holiday, marked by the mass slaughter of animals, typically leads to greater human-animal interaction and exposure to infected livestock. Pakistan witnessed its first case of Congo virus in 1976 and remained a major victim for years, according to the National Library of Medicine. The country faces major challenges in combating Congo virus every year due to its specific geographical position and a majority of the population being involved with animal husbandry, it added. There is no approved vaccine for its prevention. The European Medicines Agency in May 2024 approved a Phase I clinical trial in Sweden for a DNA-based vaccine candidate, N-pVAX1, targeting the Congo virus. Separately, the University of Oxford in August 2023 launched a Phase I trial of its ChAdOx2 CCHF vaccine, based on the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 platform, to assess safety and immune response.
