[Dawn] An acute skin disease is affecting people in south Punjab, it is learnt.An official told Dawn that more than 1,000 cases of 'leishmaniasis' had been reported in seven districts of south Punjab from January till date, an unexpectedly high number.
As such a high number of cases had not been reported in the past, the Health Department has alerted all teaching/tertiary care hospitals in south Punjab.Medical experts say leishmaniasis is a skin-related disease which is transmitted by the bite of a female sandfly. "The sandflies inject infection into a human body and consequently large wounds appear on the skin within a couple of weeks," Dr Muhammad Alim of Jinnah Hospital said.