Quacks bedevil Sindh’s hepatitis-free goals

HYDERABAD: In a tug of war over hepatitis B and C, the chief minister’s anti-hepatitis programme is battling fake doctors, whose careless medical practices are considered the main reasons behind the spread of the viruses.

Persons with fake degrees, or quacks, are often responsible for virus transfusion in people, said Dr Abdul Majeed Chutto, the programme manager of the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah’s Initiative for Hepatitis Free Sindh. The doctor feels that the province is especially vulnerable to such illegal medical practices because there is no ‘anti-quackery bill’ which can monitor and take action against such fake doctors and medical ‘healers’.

If the Sindh Assembly passes a bill against quacks and fake healers the government would be able to get rid of tens of thousands of such pretenders in the province.

“These quacks have opened so-called clinics in remote areas of the province and are involved in transfusion of viruses through reusing syringes and unhygienic equipment,” he told APP, adding that there is no law against such doctors which is why it was very hard to stem their practices.

According to Dr Chutto, the prevalence of hepatitis in the province is because of unsafe blood transfusions and the tendency to reuse syringes.

Hepatitis-Free Sindh

Although there is no specific bill against quacks and fake doctors, the Sindh Assembly has passed a bill promoting the use of ‘auto-destructible syringes’, which cannot be used more than once since the plunger is broken after one use, and another bill which demands compulsory registration of blood banks. Both efforts were initiatives to prevent the spread of viral diseases.

Passing the bills is not enough though, said Dr Chutto, if the orders are to be implemented then enough staff must be appointed.

Speaking about the chief minister’s anti-hepatitis programme, the doctor said that the project includes preventing acute infections, addressing chronic infections, raising public awareness, changing the policy environment and strengthening the health system. Thirty-six hospitals have been equipped and established as sites for diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis patients.

These 36 hospitals include all district headquarters’ hospitals, eight hospitals in Karachi and four facilities in Hyderabad, where all services are being provided free of cost.

Two PCR Molecular laboratories have been established at Civil Hospital Mirpurkhas and Chandka Medical College Hospital Larkana. A total of 29,870 patients have been administered the PCR test at LUMHS, Jamshoro, DOW University of Health Sciences in Karachi, the CMC Hospital Larkana and the Civil Hospital Mirpurkhas, he added.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2010.