People suffer as jaundice epidemic hits Rahim Yar Khan

Doctors say arsenic water, reuse of syringes and pollution are key factors of disease outbreak

RAHIM YAR KHAN: At present, the entire district of Rahim Yar Khan has been plagued with jaundice. In a district of more than 0.45 million people, hundreds succumb to the deadly disease each year while deaths are reported from every corner of the district, with the family left to mourn the victim.

The core reason behind the rise of this contagion is the terminal increase in the levels of arsenic underground and the second reason being the lack of a filtration plant in 90% of the entire district, forcing the local population to consume arsenic water.

Jaundice is quite common in the rural areas, especially in Rahim Yar Khan’s Ahmedabad Village.

When officials from the local health department conducted jaundice tests on 100 people, it turned out that 95 of them had the disease. And now, there is a rise in the deaths related to jaundice in the entire district.

The only big hospital in the entire district is the Shiekh Zayed Hospital, where three to five casualties due to the disease are reported on a daily basis.

Data collected from Shiekh Zayed Hospital stated that at least 10 people have lost their lives in the district during the past few days while fears of more casualties cannot be ruled out.

While speaking to Express News, senior doctors at Sheikh Zayed Hospital Dr Malik Muhammad Azam and Dr Maaz Khan said that the arsenic underground water, reuse of syringes, pollution and lack of filtration plants play a leading role in spreading this deadly disease.

They added, “Raising awareness and concerted measures regarding prevention could help overcome the outbreak.”

When Express News inquired those affected by this deadly disease, Nooruddin Khan, Seth Niaz Ahmed Saanghi and others said the victims who passed away were the sole bread earners of the family and their deaths have left the families on the brink of starvation.

They said that the situation has worsened as some of the remaining family members have also contracted the disease and are in critical condition. The government hospitals do not have free tests or free vaccinations for jaundice. And due to the vaccinations being expensive, a common and poor man cannot afford to pay for it and hence die slowly and painfully.

The district of Rahim Yar Khan elects six National Assembly and 13 provincial assembly representatives, but they remain aloof about this grave situation, despite being aware of this pandemic, making no relief efforts for the locals.

After reviewing the health department’s rural and urban reports, it transpired that the district’s 60% to 70% population had this disease.

Express News collected and reviewed the test reports of the district’s three rural health centres, two district headquarters hospitals and Shiekh Zayed Hospital which revealed that 63% of the population had the disease.

When Express News inquired from local social workers like Jam Muhammad Safdar, Meher Ghulam Ahmed and others, about the deadly situation, they said it is because of lack of attention from government representatives and the health department officials. “Their negligence has greatly contributed to this situation as they have abandoned the locals,” they lamented.

A survey of the area by this scribe revealed that lack of filtration plants, arsenic underground water and criminal lack of attention from the government representatives, as well as the facilities of free tests and vaccination are the key contributors in the rise of this disease in the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2018.