ISLAMABAD: Five more children died of pneumonia in Pakistan’s east Punjab province, raising the total number of deaths in children related to the disease to 410 in the province this year, the health department has said, reported Xinhua.

In the provincial capital city of Lahore, 182 new cases of pneumonia were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday, the department said in a statement on Wednesday.

A total of 717 new cases were reported across the province during the two days, the department added.

It said that a total of 6,620 cases have been reported this year.

Health officials have attributed the rapid spread of the disease to environmental pollution, low immunity among children due in part to lack of proper vaccination.-Bernama