LAHORE – Diseases transmitted through mosquitoes saw a significant increase with 2,340 cases of malaria reported in 20 districts in March as compared to 872 in 15 districts in February, says a Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report.

According to the report based on monitoring of 73 health offices in as many districts in March, there were 79 cases of dengue, all of them reported in Lahore. No case was recorded in the preceding month. Tank 1,259, Karachi East 256 and Chitral 190 were the highest reporting districts of malaria in the month.
FAFEN health monitors observed 2,385,845 cases of diseases. Of these, 54 percent 1,295,152 were those of Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs). Faisalabad 150,110, Gujranwala 64,261 and Bahawalpur 59,215, had the most cases of these infections.
Gastrointestinal infections followed with 17percent of the total disease burden. Of the 372,411 cases, 86 percent were those of diarrhea and dysentery and 14 percent of gastroenteritis. Faisalabad with 27,308 cases was the highest reporting district of diarrhea and dysentery while Lahore had the most cases of gastroenteritis 19,309.
Among skin diseases, the FAFEN monitors observed only scabies which constituted 10 percent of the total disease. Faisalabad reported the most cases 23,460, followed by Gujranwala 11,965 and Bahawalpur 11,450. Moreover, there were 10,352 cases of animal bites, 10,022 dog bites and 330 snake bites in 59 and 42 districts respectively.
Of the 2,792 cases of viral diseases reported in the monitored month, 90 per cent were cases of hepatitis, measles 8 percent and suspected Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 1 percent . Moreover, 17 cases of probable poliomyelitis were also recorded. All viral diseases, except for hepatitis, registered a rise.
Cases of bacterial diseases also increased. Although, there were only six cases of tetanus reported in three districts last month, the number soared to 265 in five districts during this period. Similarly, average cases of tuberculosis increased from 47 per district in February to 65 per district in March.
Cases of maternal, infant and child mortality were also recorded in the monitored districts, with 23 reporting the death of 80 mothers due to pregnancy and delivery-related complications. Rawalpindi 11, Faisalabad 9 and Multan 8 were the highest reported in the districts.
As many as 1,683 cases of infant mortality were reported in 36 districts of which Sahiwal had the maximum cases 166, followed by Vehari 119 and Faisalabad 114. Moreover, 143 cases of child mortality were registered in six districts, out of which Toba Tek Singh was the top reporting district with 95 such cases.
In all, 10 districts in Punjab registered the highest disease burden. Of these, 11 percent were recorded in Gujrat, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur 8 percent each, Gujranwala and Lahore 4 percent each, and Rajanpur, Sialkot, Multan, Kasur and Bahawalnagar 3 percent each.