Severe cold and pneumonia outbreak kills over 200 Children in Pakistan

In the past three weeks, more than 200 children in Pakistan's Punjab province have succumbed to pneumonia as a result of the extreme cold weather, as announced by the government on Friday.

The Punjab caretaker government revealed that the majority of these children "were also not vaccinated against pneumonia, malnourished, and had poor immunity due to a lack of breastfeeding." Due to the severe weather conditions, the government has imposed a ban on morning assemblies in schools across the province until January 31.

Since January 1, a total of 10,520 pneumonia cases have been reported in the province, with all 220 deaths occurring in children under the age of five. Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, recorded 47 of these fatalities.

Mukhtar Ahmed, director of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in Punjab, highlighted that infants in Pakistan typically receive their first anti-pneumonia vaccine, PCV, around six weeks after birth. "From birth till the age of two, the EPI ensures that a baby receives 12 vaccines against different diseases," he explained.

"Of these, three are to protect children from pneumonia. Pneumonia can be caused by both bacteria and viruses. Vaccinated children are safe against bacterial infection, but they can still be affected by viral pneumonia."

The government has issued recommendations for children to wear masks, wash their hands, and use warm clothes to prevent pneumonia. Expressing deep concern over the rising pneumonia cases among children in the province, it noted that 990 children died of pneumonia in Punjab last year.

In response to the situation, the government has urged senior doctors to implement preventive measures to safeguard children from contracting pneumonia. The incidence of viral pneumonia diseases is rapidly increasing among children due to the cold weather, and the government has likened its spread to that of COVID-19.