Tag: pneumonia

  • Pneumonia endemic: 405 kids died in Punjab this year

    Pneumonia endemic: 405 kids died in Punjab this year

    Pneumonia endemic is still spreading in Punjab despite the weather warming up, with 13 children dying of the respiratory illness in the previous 24 hours, reports Geo News.

    The heartbreaking death toll includes two children from Lahore, three from Faisalabad, and two from Bahawalpur, highlighting the widespread impact of the illness across various regions. Additionally, two children in Sheikhupura, and one each in Gujranwala, Multan, and Rawalpindi succumbed to the disease.

    In the last 24 hours, 304 more cases of pneumonia have been reported in Punjab. According to the data of the health department, 29, 603 children have been infected with pneumonia so far this year, out of which 405 lost their lives.

    The Punjab Health Department has issued a plea to parents, urging them to ensure that children complete the immunization course offered free of cost. Immunization remains one of the most effective preventive measures against pneumonia and other infectious diseases, offering vital protection to vulnerable children.

  • Pneumonia continues consuming lives in Punjab, 251 children affected in last 24 hours

    Pneumonia continues consuming lives in Punjab, 251 children affected in last 24 hours

    Punjab Health Department has shared that 1,777 new cases of pneumonia were reported in the province within 24 hours, while 12 children also died due to the disease.

    According to the Health Department, 11, 597 children were affected by pneumonia in the first 24 days of the year 2024 in Punjab whereas 251 children were affected by pneumonia in 24 hours in Lahore only. 220 deaths from pneumonia have also been reported in Punjab in the last 24 days, reports Geo.

    Director of Immunization Dr. Mukhtar said that pneumonia is spreading in Punjab, adding that the pneumonia vaccine is not effective in viral outbreaks even though there is plenty of vaccine available. However, there is only one pneumonia vaccine for children and adults. He emphasized that pneumonia vaccine is not available in the general market; no pharmacy can order pneumonia vaccine from abroad without the permission of the government, which only orders vaccines for children under immunization.

  • Pneumonia spreading fast in Punjab as province waits for rain

    Pneumonia spreading fast in Punjab as province waits for rain

    The head of the Provincial Public Health Lab, Dr. Hasnain Javed, has said that pneumonia is spreading in Punjab as dry cold and smog persist.

    In a conversation with Geo News, Dr. Hasnain Javed said that viral and bacterial pneumonia are spreading through the people, adding that patients affected by pneumonia are crowding emergency rooms and OPDs. heart, kidney, diabetes, and liver patients are more susceptible as they have weaker immune systems.

    Dr. Hasnain Javed said that Pakistan is among the 13 countries where pneumonia occurs every year, asking citizens to immediately get chest X-rays and blood tests for breathing problems.

    The interim health minister Dr. Jamal Nasir says that pneumonia has spread more this time than last year, stressing that so far many patients of pneumonia have come to the hospitals and gotten treatment in time.

    Meanwhile, medical experts say that both children and the elderly are suffering from pneumonia, such people should stay in a warm room.

  • Mysterious pneumonia outbreak: WHO asks China for more data on respiratory illness

    Mysterious pneumonia outbreak: WHO asks China for more data on respiratory illness

    Beijing (AFP) – The World Health Organization has asked China for more data on a respiratory illness spreading in the north of the country, urging people to take steps to reduce the risk of infection.

    Northern China has reported an increase in “influenza-like illness” since mid-October when compared to the same period in the previous three years, the WHO said.

    “WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children,” the UN health body said in a statement on Wednesday.

    China’s National Health Commission told reporters last week that the respiratory illness spike was due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens, namely influenza and common bacterial infections that affect children, including mycoplasma pneumonia.

    The Chinese capital of Beijing, located in the north of the country, is currently experiencing a cold snap, with temperatures expected to plummet to well below zero by Friday, state media said.

    Temperatures plummeted as the city “entered a high incidence season of respiratory infectious diseases”, Wang Quanyi, deputy director and chief epidemiological expert at the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told state media on Wednesday.

    Beijing “is currently showing a trend of multiple pathogens coexisting”, he added.

    Calls for transparency

    Over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO repeatedly criticised Chinese authorities for their lack of transparency and cooperation.

    More than three years after cases were first detected in Wuhan, heated debate still rages around the origins of Covid-19.

    Scientists are divided between two main theories of the cause: an escape from a laboratory in the city where such viruses were being studied and an intermediate animal that infected people at a local market.

    Earlier this year, WHO experts said they were sure that Beijing had far more data that could shed light on the origins of Covid, and called it a moral imperative for the information to be shared.

    A team of specialists led by the WHO and accompanied by Chinese colleagues investigated China in early 2021, but there has not been a team able to return since and WHO officials have repeatedly asked for additional data.

    WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has stressed that getting to the bottom of the mystery could help avert future pandemics.

  • Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar is on ventilator, Pakistani fans are praying for her recovery

    Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar is on ventilator, Pakistani fans are praying for her recovery

    Legendary Indian singer, Lata Mangeshkar has moved to a ventilator and doctors confirmed that her health has deteriorated. She was hospitalised last month in Mumbai hospital, Breach Candy Hospital when she had contracted coronavirus.

    She was also diagnosed with pneumonia while in hospital. She has been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) since then.

    While talking to Indian news outlet ANI, Dr Pratit Samdani from Breach Candy Hospital stated, “Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar’s health condition has deteriorated again, she is critical. She is on a ventilator. She is still in ICU and will remain under the observation of doctors.”

    Previously, she has shown improvements in her health confirmed by her close friend, Anusha Srinivasan. Last week, the ventilator was removed from her and was in a conscious state which doctors had confirmed earlier.

    Fans from both sides of the border are praying for her speedy recovery including sports personalities.