Pneumonia in Herat children on the rise

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Like other seasonal ailments, pneumonia in children has surged because of the cold wave, a Herat Zonal Hospital official said on Wednesday.

Mirwais Abedi, head of the pediatric ward of the hospital, said they received 400 children with pneumonia on a daily basis.  About 100 are hospitalised and 300 discharged after being administered first aid.

They always tried to provide timely and free health services to all patients, Abedi said.

Some children had died of pneumonia because of their late evacuation to the hospital, he said, without giving a specific figure.

Since the delivery of health services in remote districts of the province was not good, the number of visitors from suburban areas was increasing, he added.

Meanwhile, patient attendants expressed their satisfaction with the services provided to their children.

Madina is a woman who brought her child from Shindand district to the Herat Zonal Hospital for medical treatment.

Doctors at the district hospital did not admit her child for lack of medical supplies, she complained, saying she was forced to bring the patient to the main provincial facility.

If she had not brought her child to the provincial hospital in time, she would have lost him, Madina believed.

Many other patients, who do not have access to health services in remote areas, are also hospitalised at the hospital.

Abedi advised families to follow doctors’ advice and breastfeed their children whenever they found symptoms of pneumonia in their children.

But pediatrician Mahtab Amin told Pajhwok Afghan News wearing warm clothes, taking warm liquids and warming up houses helped prevent pneumonia in children.

Pneumonia is caused by viruses or microbes that create infections in children, who experience fever, shivers, chest pain, cough and respiratory issues.

The disease usually hits children below five years and generally spreads in cold regions of the country. Doctors say pneumonia is one of the diseases killing children.

aw/mud