PESHAWAR The Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) has called for provision of clean drinking water to the internally displaced persons (IDPs) after confirmation of two cholera cases in Mardan on Sunday.

'Children desperately need clean drinking water at the relief camps to stop spread of cholera,' Prof Abdul Hameed, central president of the PPA, told Dawn at the District Headquarters Hospital Mardan, where the association had established a 20-bed children ward for the displaced children.

He said that both affected children were sisters from Swat staying at a relief camp with their mother. Jamila, 9, was brought to the children ward at the DHQ hospital on June 3 and was sent back by doctor after giving her symptomatic treatment of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD).

However, her condition deteriorated and she was brought back to the ward on June 4, but this time along with her 11-year-old sister.

The confirmation of the cholera cases should serve as alarm for the government to take stock of the situation before it could snowball into a major problem, he said. The PPA has also established a children ward at the Shah Mansoor Medical Complex in Swabi to provide specialised treatment to the critically-ill children.

As of Saturday, 1,424 patients had been examined at both wards for paediatricians; 360 patients were admitted at the health units while rest were prescribed drugs. He said that there were 995 AWD patients, 147 acute respiratory infections, 121 dysentery, 24 malaria, three meningitis and 30 patients were suffering from other diseases.

Dr Hameed said that most of the children used contaminated water due to which water-borne diseases were affecting them. 'If immediately steps weren't taken many displaced children could suffer in the days to come,' he added.

He said that children coming to the hospital were being administered vaccines. He said that they had employed health staff from the violence-hit Swat.

'We have also established OPDs in Swabi and Mardan relief camps with the financial assistance of the World Health Organisation and the Unicef from where complicated patients were referred to the wards for specialised treatment including the Khyber Teaching Hospital, We plan to establish another ward for tertiary care at the Mardan Medical Complex,' he said.