Cholera in Pakistan as Prime Minister says 20 million affected by floods

BBC
1:29PM BST 14 Aug 2010 Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that 20 million people had been affected by the worst floods in the country’s history, as the UN confirmed the first cholera case. Independence day celebrations in Pakistan were cancelled as floods continued to bring misery to millions and aid agencies warned of a “second wave” of deaths from disease. “The floods affected some 20 million people, destroyed standing crops and food storages worth billions of dollars, causing colossal loss to national economy,” Mr Gilani said in a televised address to the nation. “I would appeal to the world community to extend a helping hand to fight this calamity.” … “Outbreak of epidemics in the flood-hit areas is a serious threat, which can further compound the already grave situation,” Mr Gilani added, as the UN authorities confirmed the first cholera case. “There has been at least one cholera confirmed case in Mingora,” said Maurizio Giuliano, spokesman for the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs. Mingora is the main town in the northwestern district of Swat. Mr Giuliano said at least 36,000 people were reportedly suffering from acute watery diarrhoea. … “There are millions of people needing food, clean water and medical care and they need it right now,” said Jacques de Maio, head of operations for South Asia at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “Clearly at this point in time the overall relief effort cannot keep pace with the overall scale of the emergency,” he said. Humanitarian agencies in Pakistan were monitoring the risk of “a second wave of deaths induced by the floods in the shape of waterborne diseases”, Mr de Maio said, adding that it was impossible to measure the full scale of the disaster. …