Karachi: The city’s deteriorating and broken roads are no longer just causing traffic jams as they are now becoming a major public health threat. Hospitals across Karachi are reporting a sharp rise in respiratory illnesses among children and adults, with more than 700 children arriving daily with cough, flu, cold, and chest infections.
Doctors say the dust clouds rising from broken roads have severely polluted the city’s air, pushing vulnerable groups especially women, children and the elderly into hospitals in increasing numbers.
According to the ChildLife Foundation, which runs pediatric emergency units in six major government hospitals, 700–800 children are reporting every day with seasonal infections and breathing difficulties.
Dr. Waheeda, head of the pediatric emergency at Civil Hospital, says that unlike previous years, respiratory illnesses are no longer seasonal.
“Earlier, these cases used to increase from September onwards, but now we are seeing them throughout the year. Dust from broken roads has made the air heavily polluted.”
She added that cases of dengue and malaria are also arriving daily, with 15–20 children reporting each day including some suffering from complications or even both infections simultaneously, which she termed “alarming.”
Parents, she says, complain that their children suddenly develop coughing fits or struggle to breathe overnight, due to constant exposure to dust. Despite wearing masks, children fail to maintain proper protection.
Dr. Waheeda warned that repeated infections weaken children’s immunity. “Every home now has coughing children and adults too.”
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Bilal Ahmed Usmani from Aga Khan University explained that fine dust particles in Karachi’s air penetrate deep into the lungs, compromising the immune system.
“With every breath, harmful pollutants enter the body. Over time, the immune system becomes weakened and unable to fight off infections like influenza, flu, and upper or lower respiratory tract diseases,” he said.
He added that the poor air quality, combined with weather changes, is the main reason behind the surge in cases visible not only in major hospitals but even in small neighborhood clinics.
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