Lahore on verge of major gastro outbreak?

Health experts fear epidemic-like situation

LAHORE: Various city hospitals have been grappling with an influx of gastroenteritis patients as the mercury continues to remain on an upward trajectory.

These include Mayo, Services, Jinnah and Ganga Ram Hospitals. Health experts told The Express Tribune that they feared a major gastro outbreak in keeping with rising temperatures. Farhan Gohar of Services Hospital says the chief reason behind this was the consumption of substandard eatables. Such products, he says, are openly sold across roadside eateries.

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Gohar says gastro is a water and food-borne bacterial infection. He says its major symptoms include vomiting, fever, diarrhoea, dehydration and low blood pressure. “People must desist from frequenting such places. Especially when buying samosas and pakoras,” Gohar says.  He says the rising number of gastro patients is representative of the rampant consumption of eatables unfit for consumption. Gohar says an outbreak can be avoided if people avoid drinking contaminated water and substandard eatables. He says hospitals deal with tens of thousands of gastro and other summer-related cases every year. Gohar says its incidence can be curbed with minimal precautions.

Health Department Spokesperson Ikhlaq Ali Khan says lack of public awareness is the chief reason behind why the people have to grapple with an annual epidemic-like situation. He says the provincial government has taken steps to ensure a city-wide gastro outbreak is avoided. Khan says public awareness regarding the need to consume clean drinking water and quality eatables needs to be raised. He says the need for this becomes particularly pressing when the weather starts getting warmer. Khan says it is particularly conducive to bacteria growth.



He says the Health Department runs awareness campaigns every year to raise awareness on how seasonal infections can be avoided. However, Khan acknowledges, a lot more ought to be done on the front to obtain desired results. He says the department has already circulated an alert across all hospitals on seasonal diseases. Khan says all medicines needed to treat such cases are available across public health facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2016.