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This article is EXTREMELY confusing. It seems to attribute this to typhoid, poisoning, malnutrition, drug use, birth defects, and to an unknown illness. This does not seem like an acute problem - it seems like something that has been going on for some time.
A mysterious disease has hit the coastal locality of Rehri Myan (in Bin Qasim Town), and has already paralysed 173 children, The News has learnt. Local activists claim that doctors have not been able to detect the nature of the disease that has adversely affected the locality. Mohammed Hussain, a resident of Rehri Myan, told The News that all four of his children, including his daughter, have became paralysed after suffering from high fever. “Whenever I return from work, it seems to me that a boat carrying my four children is sinking in front of my eyes, but I am helpless and unable to do any effort to rescue them,” he said with tears in his eyes. Hussain hoped that his two minor children out of the four could be saved if they are provided proper treatment. However, he said, he had run out of money for treatment of his children. “I have spent all the money I had; now I have nothing and can only hope that the government will come to help,” he said. Mohammed Himayati, father of another victim, also maintained that he could not afford to continue treatment of his child because poverty has crippled their lives. While an NGO has set up a physiotherapy centre in the locality, activists of the Pakistan Fisherfolk (PFF) claimed that the centre faces acute shortage of manpower and equipment. They said that the government should take emergency steps to control the spreading of this disease.
This is not the first time that the area has been affected by malady. The community, living along the 129-km long Karachi coast, has become vulnerable to viral infections due to pollution, climate change, persistent drought and aridity, activists said. The increasing number of victims suffering from this mysterious disease has led to an environment of fear among the entire coastal community. Locals suspect that increasing marine pollution, depleting environment due to removal of mangroves forest along the coast, and contaminated water might be the reasons behind this affliction. Akhtar Sheikh, former councillor and an activist of the area, said that people have been receiving contaminated water for the last 20 years. Government-laid water supply lines are mixing with dirty sewerage lines that carry industrial chemical and urban waste.
“This waste is dumped into sea, and the open sewerage lines are producing disease,” he said. He added that since Rehri is located at the end of coastal area touching Gharo Creek, Thatta district, it receives more industrial waste through high and low tides. Sheikh feared that if the current situation continued, the majority of these people might become victims of different diseases. Increasing marine pollution is also destroying the wooden boats used by the community. “If these boats receive regular maintenance and care they can usually run for 12 to 15 years but now these boats split after 6 to 7 years,” Sheikh said. PFF activists working in the area told The News that seven Muhallas of the locality are most vulnerable to the disease that has sprung forth. A spokesman of the PFF claimed, however, that 25 per cent of the affected 173 children were born abnormal. The reason for them becoming paralysed, he said, is that poor families could not afford to have safe food and water. “They live a pathetic life. Sewerage water is flowing along their poor abodes, and is spreading disease,” he said. The spokesman further said that a survey conducted by the PFF in the neighbourhood revealed that 50 per cent of these children became paralysed after suffering from typhoid. He said that the majority of people, both male and female, in the identified areas have turned to the use of narcotics, including heroin.
A mysterious disease has hit the coastal locality of Rehri Myan (in Bin Qasim Town), and has already paralysed 173 children, The News has learnt. Local activists claim that doctors have not been able to detect the nature of the disease that has adversely affected the locality. Mohammed Hussain, a resident of Rehri Myan, told The News that all four of his children, including his daughter, have became paralysed after suffering from high fever. “Whenever I return from work, it seems to me that a boat carrying my four children is sinking in front of my eyes, but I am helpless and unable to do any effort to rescue them,” he said with tears in his eyes. Hussain hoped that his two minor children out of the four could be saved if they are provided proper treatment. However, he said, he had run out of money for treatment of his children. “I have spent all the money I had; now I have nothing and can only hope that the government will come to help,” he said. Mohammed Himayati, father of another victim, also maintained that he could not afford to continue treatment of his child because poverty has crippled their lives. While an NGO has set up a physiotherapy centre in the locality, activists of the Pakistan Fisherfolk (PFF) claimed that the centre faces acute shortage of manpower and equipment. They said that the government should take emergency steps to control the spreading of this disease.
This is not the first time that the area has been affected by malady. The community, living along the 129-km long Karachi coast, has become vulnerable to viral infections due to pollution, climate change, persistent drought and aridity, activists said. The increasing number of victims suffering from this mysterious disease has led to an environment of fear among the entire coastal community. Locals suspect that increasing marine pollution, depleting environment due to removal of mangroves forest along the coast, and contaminated water might be the reasons behind this affliction. Akhtar Sheikh, former councillor and an activist of the area, said that people have been receiving contaminated water for the last 20 years. Government-laid water supply lines are mixing with dirty sewerage lines that carry industrial chemical and urban waste.
“This waste is dumped into sea, and the open sewerage lines are producing disease,” he said. He added that since Rehri is located at the end of coastal area touching Gharo Creek, Thatta district, it receives more industrial waste through high and low tides. Sheikh feared that if the current situation continued, the majority of these people might become victims of different diseases. Increasing marine pollution is also destroying the wooden boats used by the community. “If these boats receive regular maintenance and care they can usually run for 12 to 15 years but now these boats split after 6 to 7 years,” Sheikh said. PFF activists working in the area told The News that seven Muhallas of the locality are most vulnerable to the disease that has sprung forth. A spokesman of the PFF claimed, however, that 25 per cent of the affected 173 children were born abnormal. The reason for them becoming paralysed, he said, is that poor families could not afford to have safe food and water. “They live a pathetic life. Sewerage water is flowing along their poor abodes, and is spreading disease,” he said. The spokesman further said that a survey conducted by the PFF in the neighbourhood revealed that 50 per cent of these children became paralysed after suffering from typhoid. He said that the majority of people, both male and female, in the identified areas have turned to the use of narcotics, including heroin.
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