Emergency declared to curb leishmania

WANA: South Waziristan Deputy Commissioner Nauman Afzal Afridi on Friday declared a state of emergency at all hospitals in the district to check the spread of leishmania.

Talking to reporters, the official said that leishmania was spreading rapidly in various areas of South Waziristan including Sararogha, Kotkai, Ladha, Barund, Kaniguram and Wana.

He said the leave of all health officials had been suspended to provide treatment facilities to the people. Nauman Afzal said that fumigation would also be carried out in the district to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne diseases. He said that patients suffering from leishmania were being administered injections to treat them. The official said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would soon dispatch 20,000 injections to South Waziristan which would be provided to various health units in the district. Meanwhile, an official of the Health Department said that leishmania broke out every year and efforts were being made to curb it. He said that there were 5,000 leishmania patients in South Waziristan.