Karachi death toll surges to 1,050 as 100 more die

KARACHI: Despite a drop of at least 10 degrees Celsius in daytime temperature in Karachi and the restoration of the cool sea breeze on Thursday, at least 100 more patients suffering from heatstroke, dehydration and diarrhoea died at various public and private hospitals while thousands were still undergoing treatment at hospital wards and heatstroke camps in the city.
The death toll in the last six days surpassed the 1,050 figure on Thursday but the city continued to face an unannounced loadshedding, power breakdowns and water shortages, forcing the people to take to the streets to protest against the government and public utilities.Both public and private hospitals witnessed a large number of diarrhea and gastroenteritis patients.
Hospital officials and doctors feared a breakout of water-borne diseases, urging people to use boiled water if possible or resort to other conventional and modern methods of water purification for drinking purposes.
Hundreds of patients were still admitted to at least 10 heatstroke centers of Sindh Rangers, four of the army and one of the Pakistan Navy but no actual figure of patients admitted, treated and deaths had been provided by the armed forces to the media during the last six days.
At least 18 more patients admitted to different wards of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) died of heatstroke and related illnesses on Thursday, Joint Executive Director, JPMC, Dr. Seemi Jamali, said. However, she said a drastic reduction in heatstroke patients was observed on the sixth day due to a change in weather, drop in daytime temperature and restoration of cool breeze.
She, however, claimed that still thousands of patients were being treated at the hospital. The hospital issued an appeal on Thursday noon for provision of ice to cool down the body temperature of patients.
The situation at the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), the second largest hospital of the province, also improved where the total death toll reached 131 on Thursday. The health facility also witnessed a sharp decline in the number of heatstroke patients.
Medical Superintendent CHK Prof. Saeed Qureshi said hundreds of patients were still admitted to different wards of the hospital, while dozens were in critical condition. He hoped that the change in weather conditions would cut the number of fatalities.
Around one dozen patients admitted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and a KMC-run hospital lost their lives due to complications of heatstroke, dehydration and diarrhea.The death toll at the KMC-run hospital has touched 214 during the last six days, Senior Director Health of KMC Dr. Salma Kauser said.
Metropolitan Commissioner Samiuddin Siddiqui claimed that during the last six days, the KMC-run hospitals received around 40,000 heatstroke and abdominal disease patients, of which 214 expired during treatment while thousands were still undergoing treatment at various hospitals and over 42 heatstroke centres established in the city.
There were also reports of at least 50 deaths at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH).Despite confirmation of deaths of elderly people and children, administrations of both the hospitals refused to provide any figures of heatstroke patients and casualties.
The Aga Khan Hospital administration claimed that around 31 patients had died during four days while a total of 311 patients suffering from heatstroke and related complications had been admitted.At least 71 patients have so far died at the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH), its spokesman Anjum Rizvi claimed.
He said Thursday was a far better day when only a couple of patients had died due to heatstroke and dehydration while the hospital also received lesser number of patients on Thursday.
The Indus Hospital also claimed that only four deaths were reported on Thursday while 2,100 patients were brought to the health facility, of which 45 had died while 56 were still undergoing treatment.
The situation at the three centers of Ziauddin Hospital, including North Nazimabad, Clifton and Keamari, was also the same where a total of 61 patients died during treatment, a spokesman for the hospital said.
He said the hospital received around 1,800 patients of heatstroke and other related illnesses of which 617 were still admitted to different wards while over 1,100 were discharged after necessary treatment.
As many as 41 patients had died at the Qatar Hospital in Orangi Town during the last six days, its Medical Superintendent Dr. Khalid Masood said, claiming that only one patient had died on Thursday while the number of patients had also reduced.
Dozens of deaths were also reported from various public and private hospitals in Korangi, Liaquatabad, New Karachi, North Nazimabad, Malir, Keamari, Garden and other areas.According to an estimate, the total death toll could be much higher than 1,100, officials said.