WHO has published Floods in Pakistan - Health Cluster bulletin No 11 - 15 August 2010. This is today's must-read, and it's long and detailed. Excerpt:
Health situation/ alerts and outbreak
•The leading causes of morbidity in flood affected communities are: skin diseases, acute watery diarrhoea, and acute respiratory infections.
•Rumors of confirmed cholera cases are pouring in. In accordance with Article 9 and 10 of International Health Regulations (2005), WHO has requested the Ministry of Health for a verification of the news item reported in the international media regarding the cholera case from Mingora town of Swat district; and WHO has requested for a notification if any risk assessment has been carried out using the decision instrument and the result, as stipulated in the Annex-2 of IHR (2005).
•As response to cases of diarrhoea in Mingora, Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin) and Malteser International are conducting health interventions in affected areas.
•Fifty-six (56) out of 62 flood affected districts from the provinces of KPK, Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan shared daily disease surveillance data for 11 August. One new alert (false) of suspected hemorrhagic fever was reported from CH Nawagai, district Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
•Cholera is endemic in Pakistan and in the current emergency situation it is anticipated that cholera cases will occur sporadically amongst the susceptible population in the affected areas. Therefore the threat of cholera in the flood affected communities remains high. In order to avoid excess mortality, it is important that all acute watery diarrhoea cases with severe dehydration have easy and rapid access to standardized treatment.
