254 fall victim to Leishmaniasis in Landikotal

LANDIKOTAL: Officials at the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Landikotal said on Sunday that they had diagnosed over 254 patients with leishmaniasis disease.

However, they claimed to have initiated an awareness campaign against the disease in the entire Khyber Agency.Agency Surgeon Dr Abdur Rehman told The News that health officials had detected 254 patients in Landikotal tehsil in January, which comprised mostly women and children.

The health official said that the disease is caused by the bite of sand flies, which have invaded most parts of Fata.“Though we have registered and diagnosed hundreds of leishmaniasis cases in Landikotal in the past few months, the disease is rampant in most parts of Fata as tribesmen are not fully aware about the gravity of this disease and the free treatment provided by the Directorate of Health Fata,” Dr Rehman said.

He said it was unfortunate that most of such cases were laying hidden inside houses in most tribal areas due to lack of awareness among the masses. He said the disease could easily be communicated to members of a family when a sand fly bites one person in a house.

Dr Rehman Afridi said the case reporting has registered a sharp rise in recent days as an effective anti-leishmaniasis campaign has been launched in all the three tehsils of Khyber Agency.

Regarding the root of the sand fly, he said it had come from bordering areas of Afghanistan. He said a study conducted by the department showed that most affected patients belong to border areas.

Some patients at the AHQ hospital in Landikotal, however, complained that they were facing difficulties in getting free and timely treatment. They said they had repeatedly approached the medical superintendent of the hospital but to no avail.

Most of the patients belonged to poor families, who are unable to afford the costly treatment on their own.Local elders also demanded the health authorities to ensure timely distribution of mosquito nets. They alleged that nets were given to undeserving and comparatively well-off people, instead of underprivileged people. They said that hopefully timely and judicious distribution would help stop leishmaniasis.

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