Pneumonia killed over 7,000 children aged under five in Sindh this year — official

In this picture taken on May 25, 2018, a Pakistani medic takes care of children at Mithi Civil Hospital in Mithi, a remote town in southern Pakistan. (AFP/FILE)

• Sindh Health Services DG Irshad Memon says over 60% cases occurred in rural areas
• Expert says around 90,000 children die of the infection in Pakistan annually

ISLAMABAD: More than 7,000 children died and 27,000 others under the age of five were affected by the deadly pneumonia virus in southern Pakistani province of Sindh this year, local media reported on Tuesday, citing a senior Sindh health official.
The infection inflames air sacs of patient’s lungs and fills them up with fluid, and has symptoms such as a cough, fever, chills and breathing issues.
In 2021, more than 46 children above the age of five died and a total of 8,534 people — both children and adults — suffered from pneumonia across the province, Geo News reported.
“As many as 7,462 children have died and 27,136 others under the age of five have been affected by the deadly pneumonia virus in Sindh,” the report quoted Sindh Health Services Director-General Dr. Irshad Memon as saying.
“More than 60 percent of the cases pertained to the rural areas and the rest were from urban parts of the province.”
The numbers represented children and people who had accessed government health facilities across the province, according to the report.
Professor Dr. Iqbal Memon, former president of the Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA), said pneumonia was the biggest cause of death among children in Pakistan.
He said it could be reduced by vaccinating children at the age of 6, 10, and 14 months, lamenting that most of the children did not get vaccinated unfortunately.
Dr. Khalid Shafi, another senior PPA member, said the figures were only from government health facilities and there were a number of private health facilities in the entire province too.
Around 90,000 children die of pneumonia in Pakistan annually, he said.
“We have urged parents to administer their children pneumonia (Pneumococcal) vaccine at the right time,” Shafi was quoted as saying.
“The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) coverage of Sindh needs to be increased to keep the situation from getting worst.”