Thirty-three children have died in Turkmenistan due to the flu epidemic, and the majority of those children had congenital heart and respiratory diseases, according to a report by the Chronicle of Turkmenistan news portal.
Children aged five to seven made up the majority of cases. The flu crisis has since abated, but only after hospitals experienced overcrowding when the pandemic was at its peak and a ban came into force against placing patients from Etrap (the territorial unit of Turkmenistan) in city hospitals. In the intensive care and therapy departments of hospitals, plastic-lined departments were installed where patients with influenza were treated.
The epidemic had exposed a shortage of medications and medical supplies, according to comments made by the leaders of various medical facilities. Thanks to Uzbekistan’s assistance, which included a large shipment of medications, this shortage was addressed. Officials mandated the equipping of one or two rooms with state-of-the-art resuscitation equipment in each hospital department.
Ashgabat and the surrounding areas saw a high incidence of influenza in December and the beginning of January 2024. Many patients were sent home for treatment, because the capital’s hospitals were overcrowded. The majority of home remedies, however, appear to have increased infection rates.
