PESHAWAR: The number of patients suffering from diarrhoea continues to rise in the 10 calamity-hit districts amid plan by health and information departments to escalate awareness campaign against vector-borne ailments including dengue, malaria and cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Surveillance regarding priority diseases has been strengthened to monitorand respond timely to outbreaks of ailments, according to a report of health department.

During the past three days, 81,244 patients have been examined in medical camps and health facilities. Most of the patients were suffering from acute watery diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, scabies and bloody diarrhoea.

Few cases of snakebite, malaria and cutaneous leishmaniasis were also reported.

A report compiled by Integrated Disease Surveillance and ResponseSystem (IDSRS) of the public health section at directorate-general health services (DGHS) said that 32 medical camps were operating in affected areas and health emergency was in place due to which staff in health facilities provided round-the-clock services to people.

However, disruption of internet services might impact relief work in view of forecast of more cloudbursts till the first week of September, it said.

The report said that a total of 322 deaths were recorded in the calamitystricken districts whereas 57 health facilities were affected by floods that included 54 partially damaged and three fully destroyed.

The director-general health services of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr Shahid Yunis, told a news conference that health department had already activated health cluster to coordinate response efforts and medical emergency had been declared in the affected districts with setting up emergency control rooms to monitor the situation and ensure prompt response.

Flanked by the secretary of information, Dr Bakhtiar Khan, the and directorgeneral of information, Ansarullah Khilji, he said that cluster meeting with partner organisations identified areas of support to improve coordination.

He said that efforts were afoot to ensure community engagement for mental health and psychosocial support, MNCH services through medical camps in addition to deployment of 33 mobile vans to reach needy people.

Dr Shahid said that they were launching awareness drive in collaboration with information department to help people adopt preventive measures against dengue and other vector-borne sicknesses.

The adviser to chief minister on health,Ihtisham Ali, in a statement said that provincial government was making all out efforts to provide maximum health coverage to rural and urban people alike.

He highlighted various initiatives of health department and said that people needed to be informed about those initiatives to get benefitted from them.

Mr Ali asked the director-general health to launch dengue awareness campaign in the province to educate and enable people to take all possible precautionary measures.

He directed his personal staff to liaise with information department to keep people updated about each initiative taken by the health department.

The health adviser also visited the flood-affected district of Swabi where he went around the areas destroyed by the natural disaster.

Accompanied by the director of Bacha Khan Medical Complex Swabi, Dr Khalid Masud, he met with hospitalised patients and reviewed the capacity and preparedness of local health facilities.

Meanwhile, USAID donated two ambulances to health department.

Imported from Japan, the ambulances are equipped with advanced technology and include life-saving medical equipment.

To oversee flood response efforts, the health adviser also visited Provincial Disease Surveillance and Emergency Control Room at Directorate General Health Services where he was informed that medical camps and emergency health services were actively operating in flood-hit districts, with ongoing surveillance of communicable diseases.

District-level clusters have been activated to enable welfare and donor organisations to respond effectively based on localneeds.