Water-borne diseases kill 9 people – SUCH TV

At least nine people died on Monday from infectious and water-borne diseases that have struck tens of thousands of people in flood-hit areas, official data showed. The number has become 318.

The country’s disaster management agency said the death toll from the floods had reached 1,559, including 551 children and 318 women, not including deaths from disease.

As the floodwaters begin to recede, which officials say could take two to six months in different areas, malaria, dengue fever, diarrhea and skin problems are common in flooded areas, especially In the southern province of Sindh.

The provincial government said in a report released on Tuesday that nine people died of gastroenteritis, severe diarrhea and suspected malaria on Monday. It has reported a total of 318 deaths from the diseases since July 1.

More than 72,000 patients were treated in temporary or mobile hospitals set up in flood-hit areas on Monday, the report said.

More than 2.7 million people have been treated in these facilities since July 1, the report said.

Record monsoon rains and snowmelt in northern Pakistan triggered floods that affected about 33 million people in the South Asian country of 220 million, causing $30 billion in damage to homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock.

Millions of displaced people are living in the open, exposing them to stagnant water-borne diseases. Officials have said they are in desperate need of food, shelter, clean drinking water, toilets and medicine.

It says an estimated 16 million children are affected, and at least 3.4 million girls and boys need immediate, life-saving assistance.

The country received 391 mm (15.4 in) of rain, or some 190% above the 30-year average, during July and August, a monsoon spell that started early and ran ahead of the normal timeline. In the southern province of Sindh, rainfall reached 466 percent of the average.