Five children of one family die of unknown illness in Khyber
Seven children fell unconscious in Qaziano Kalle; five died in transit to Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar, where two are under treatment.
Five children of one family died after seven children in the household fell unconscious in Qaziano Kalle, in the jurisdiction of Bazar Zakhakhel police station in Landi Kotal, Khyber district, police said. All five who died were under five years old, three girls and two boys.
The children were being taken to Hayatabad Medical Complex in Peshawar for treatment when five of them died on the way, according to police. The two survivors are under treatment at the Peshawar hospital.
A police report cited by Express News identified the family as that of a man named Shah Jee.
Deputy Commissioner Khyber Shahid Ali said a special team of the district administration shifted the affected children to Peshawar, where they are being fully cared for. On his instruction, Assistant Commissioner Landi Kotal Inam Wazir visited Hayatabad Medical Complex, checked on the two children, reviewed their treatment, the medical reports and the facilities provided, and was briefed by the hospital staff. Wazir said the district administration was working to give the children the best available medical care and to establish what caused the incident.
Doctors have not established the cause of the illness. Aaj News reported that initial tests showed normal calcium, magnesium and PT/INR results, with haemoglobin recorded at 11.7 and platelets at 634. Doctors advised a blood culture and a CT scan, and further tests will be carried out to determine the cause. Express News reported that the initial tests came back clear, without publishing the readings.
Police said the immediate cause of the deaths was still not known and that medical experts at Hayatabad Medical Complex were investigating the case.
Landi Kotal is a tehsil of Khyber district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, near the Afghan border.
How the reports differ
Express News named the family, identifying the children as those of a man called Shah Jee, and named Deputy Commissioner Khyber Shahid Ali and Assistant Commissioner Landi Kotal Inam Wazir, while Aaj News reported the assistant commissioner's hospital visit without naming him. Aaj News published the initial test readings, including haemoglobin of 11.7 and platelets of 634, whereas Express News said only that the initial tests had come back clear. Both reported that the two surviving children are being treated at Hayatabad Medical Complex and that the cause of the illness has not been established.
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