Doctors set up heatstroke units at Jalozai

Following 14 deaths in a week at the Jalozai refugee camp in northwestern Pakistan due to disease, aggravated by soaring temperatures, doctors have mobilised three rehydration and heatstroke units to cope with any further outbreak. A slight reprieve in hot temperatures over the weekend, combined with vigilance on the part of the medical staff at Jalozai, had meant that, since Wednesday, there had been a drop in the death rate, the camp’s director of health, Dr Javed Pervez, told IRIN on Monday. Officials recorded a further five deaths, including those of two children, in addition to the 14, from diarrhoea, which was exacerbated by heat and dehydration. However, Pervez maintained that the situation now appeared to be “under control”. Three new units operated by five medical staff have begun to administer intravenous infusions and oral rehydration salts. However, the main fear remains - that of an outbreak of cholera and meningitis. With little sanitation, intense heat and lack of water, conditions in the camp are reportedly “ripe” for cholera. “We are watching very closely. The prescription is there for an outbreak of cholera. So far we have been lucky, but we are ready to mobilise resources and do something drastic if we see anything,” Pervez said. Despite a donation of more than 5,000 tents by Jemima Khan, the British-born wife of Pakistani cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, space to pitch the tents has proved an obstacle. Pervez said the camp was already overcrowded and there was little available space or ventilation. He said that as a result, many of the tents could not even be pitched and put to use. Meanwhile, donations from British and foreign donors in response to Khan’s appeals in March after she first visited the camp, have led to the provision of much-needed relief items for 6,000 Afghan families. According to Dr Javed, the next step needing to be taken will be to conduct a “massive vaccination campaign”, targeting diseases such as measles, which is an “acute cause of a lot of morbidity and mortality and is easily preventable”. The medical team, which is part of the Pakistan provincial government, but funded by UNHCR, operates two basic health units at Jalozai, each staffed by a male and female doctor from 0800 to 1800 local time. Each day the team was treating around 200 patients for diseases such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections, Pervez said. Jalozai remains at the heart of a stalemate between the regional Pakistani authorities and UNHCR. In late January, the regional authorities suspended UNHCR’s refugee verification process, thereby effectively blocking the transfer of vulnerable people away from Jalozai. Conditions in the camp have deteriorated, with 80,000 refugees lacking sanitary facilities, health or water supplies. So far, attempts by senior UN officials, including Secretary-General Kofi Annan, have failed to break the stalemate.