Tetanus Claims 22 in Pakistan

28/10/2005| IslamWeb

Pakistan fear of disease among South Asia's quake survivors grew yesterday with word of 22 deaths from tetanus and the quarantine of a man showing symptoms of hemorrhagic fever, a day after the United Nations warned of a looming calamity if the world turns its back on Pakistan ahead of the unforgiving Himalayan winter.

Many of the tens of thousands injured in the quake had to wait a week or more to get their first medical treatment, so infected wounds have become rife.

Sacha Bootsma, a communications officer for the World Health Organisation, said there had been 111 tetanus cases since the temblor struck, of which 22 were fatal. She said the numbers were normal for a disaster of this magnitude, and that the situation was under control.

Other aid officials have warned of a huge spike in cases of pneumonia, bronchitis and other diseases associated with the cold weather. Temperatures are already dipping below freezing in some areas, and the weather is expected to worsen in coming weeks, cutting off remote valleys where some 800,000 people are believed to lack any shelter whatsoever.

Meanwhile, a government driver ill with a suspected case of hemorrhagic fever was shifted from the town of Bagh, about 60km southwest of Muzaffarabad, and isolated in an Islamabad hospital.

Bootsma said samples of the patient's blood have been sent to a laboratory in South Africa for testing.

Hemorrhagic fevers include such illnesses as Ebola and Marburg, and are characterised by a sudden onset, fever, aching, bleeding in internal organs and shock.

As the fear of disease grew, a top charity yesterday warned that world aid pledges for Pakistan's quake may be too late to save lives.

British aid agency Oxfam said much of the funding in the pipeline was coming "too little, too late", with only three weeks of good weather left to get tents, blankets and food into the devastated region.

"It appears that almost half of the money pledged is for longer-term reconstruction work which, although vital, won't save a single one of the thousands of lives currently hanging in the balance," it said in a statement.

The warning comes amidst fresh pledges of support to Pakistan from the EU and the UN. EU leaders yesterday assured to improve the bloc's response to natural disasters and said it was ready to do more to help the victims of the South Asian earthquake.

The leaders noted that the 25 member states had pledged more than 242.6 million US dollar, plus helicopters, aircraft and engineers to the international relief effort and that the European Commission had pledged an additional 96m in emergency aid last week.

The UN won pledges of 580m for quake victims at a meeting in Geneva, including 25m from India. The UN said not enough funds were donated toward emergency relief and more resources were needed to save 2m to 3m lives.

Officials from India and Pakistan would meet in Pakistani capital, Islamabad tomorrow to discuss how they could quickly provide aid to the quake victims in Kashmir.

In Moscow, visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the country has opened relief centres along the de facto border between Pakistan and India in Kashmir to improve the flow of aid and movement of people.

Iraq said yesterday it plans to send several hundred soldiers from its new army to help relief efforts. China announced it will send an additional 13.8m.

Urooj Saifee from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said the UNHCR had set up three new tented sites with a total capacity for 24,000 people in Kashmir's Jhelum Valley. However, the refugee agency has yet to move into Neelum Valley, where road access remains difficult.

The World Food Programme says it needs to distribute more than 500 tonnes of food aid daily, and faces huge logistical constraints because of blocked roads and the mountainous terrain. Zeba Tanwir Buqhari, Unicef's chief of operations in Muzaffarabad, said the agency would be setting up schools in 20 big tents for 75,000 children in the area.

l Jordan's Queen Rania will visit Muzaffarabad tomorrow to tour quake-stricken areas, her office said in a statement yesterday. Rania, who holds an honorary title with the Unicef, will tour a local hospital and a Unicef school.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Pakistani volunteer loads relief items on a truck for earthquake survivors in Peshawar. (AFP)