Infectious diseases: Capital hospitals witnessed surge in cases

The two institutes Capital lacks facilities to handle the influx of patients

ISLAMABAD: The surge in prevalence of infectious diseases warrants urgent measures from health authorities to control their spread.

The two federal capital hospitals registered 16,000 new cases of hepatitis B and C last year.

Despite the alarming situation the federal government has been unable to initiate any alternative programme to prevent spread of hepatitis after the devolution of the health ministry.



The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), the largest referral hospital in public sector, registered over 15,000 new cases of hepatitis B and C out of which 6,000 were provided treatment while the rest were either not curable or had quit.

“With each passing day the burden of this infectious disease is increasing and now it has become really difficult to provide treatment to all,” Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (SZAB) Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Javed Akram told The Express Tribune.

He attributed lack of facilities including liver transplant in public hospitals.

Pims, however, has opened its own drug charity bank to provide free treatment to the deserving patients, but it is insufficient to meet the patient load.

“Lack of awareness among people about its prevention, quackery, unscreened blood transfusion and the reuse of syringes are some of the factors that cause the spread of hepatitis B and C.” he said.

Polyclinic also registered increase in number of people with infectious diseases last year.

In 2014, a total of 1,000 people were tested positive for hepatitis B and C against 800 in 2013, said Dr Sharif Astori, head of Polyclinic blood bank.



He said the majority of the patients tested for the infectious disease lived in suburbs of the capital such as Golra, Sihala, Bhara Kahu and aged between 30 to 50 years.

“They all have a history of blood transfusion, dental and other kinds of surgeries carried out in their
specific areas by unqualified medical practitioners,” Dr Astori said.

He was of the view that the rise in the number of hepatitis cases was worrisome though, it was a positive sign that awareness about the screening of blood has also increased among the people.

About the treatment facilities, he said the hospital was arranging interferon injections from its own budget as after the devolution of the Prime Minister’s Programme for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis has not been getting funds.

A senior official at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination said that since June 2011, no measures
have been taken for the prevention of hepatitis B and C due to the absence of a viable plan.

He said the infection was spreading alarmingly but there is no plan at federal level to control it.

“The business of quacks is flourishing and there is no one to keep a check on it,” he said.

“The federal government, however, is planning to integrate a plan for HIV/AID and Hepatitis to get best possible results,” said the official.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2015.