A total of 15 children died of the two diseases in the last three days - 11 of diarrhoea and four of pneumonia.

The two diseases affected more than 95 per cent children of the district, sources said.

District Health Department, however, did not admit breakout of diarrhoea and pneumonia in epidemic form. Rather, they often attributed deaths of children from such epidemic in the district to food poisoning or other diseases.

Meanwhile, medical experts said post-flood situation and season change were the main reasons for such an epidemic.

The local Civil Surgeon shared the expert views and admitted a slight rise in the number of patients afflicted with diarrhoea and pneumonia.

Scarcity of oral saline and other life saving drugs in the affected areas further deteriorated the situation, locals alleged. But the Civil Surgeon denied any scarcity of medicines in the government hospitals.

The deaths from pneumonia reported on Thursday include Maya (3 months) of Bhatshala village, Babu (2 days) of Sultanpur village, and Tabir (7 months) of Gopalbari all in Sadar upazila.

Five children, including three of a family, died of diarrhoea on Wednesday.

Medical sources said that on Thursday alone 49 patients with diarrhoea and 21 with pneumonia were admitted to the local hospitals. There was also rush of patients with the two diseases at the chamber of local doctors.