Number of gastro patients rises during Eid

Doctor says most of his patients fell ill after eating food from roadside stalls

LAHORE: Dozens of people visited emergency departments at public hospitals during Eid holidays with complaints about gastroenteritis and diarrhea, doctors.

Doctors at Mayo Hospital estimated that around 2,000 people came to the emergency department of the hospital for treatment of these diseases.

Dr Salman Kazmi said most of the patients had said that they fell ill after eating food from roadside stalls.

“The situation is the same in all major hospitals of the city. My estimate is that around 12,000 people have been treated at major public hospitals for gastroenteritis and diarrhea during Eid holidays,” Kazmi said.



He said it appeared that unhygienic food sold at stalls in public parks and recreational places was a factor of the sudden increase in number of people felling ill with gastroenteritis and diarrhea.

He stressed the need for ensuring regular monitoring of food items sold at roadside stalls. He said there could be a gastroenteritis outbreak if the government failed to enforce food safety standards.

Health Department spokesman Akhlaq Ali Khan said there had been no complaints about shortage of medicines or staff during Eid holidays. He said the district administration and the Punjab Food Authority were responsible for regulating roadside food businesses.

“The Health Department is aware of its duties. The hospitals are performing well. We’re doing our best to provide quality healthcare service,” he said.

Lahore DCO’s spokesperson Imran Maqbool said the mandate of the district administration was to prevent encroachments on roadsides, including those by food vendors. He said the crackdown against encroachments had been underway throughout the Ramazan.  He said the district administration teams had confiscated several stalls during the campaign. The operation would resume after Eid holidays, he said.



Enforcement of food quality standards, however, was the responsibility of the Punjab Food Authority, he said.

PFA Director General Dr Sajid Chohan said the authority had confiscated stalls of various vendors found selling substandard food during the Ramazan. He said that most vendors closed down their stalls when an operation got underway in the city. If the operation was temporarily halted they immediately resumed operations, he added.

Chohan said the authority would start another crackdown in the coming days against those selling substandard food.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2016.