Typhoid threat
Pakistan has the highest rate of Typhoid among the South Asian countries with 493.5 per 100,000 cases in 2018. The country is once again experiencing a surge in cases of multi-drug resistant typhoid fever. The high incidence of typhoid stems from the absence of proper healthcare facilities in rural and impoverished regions, inadequate supply of potable water, poor sanitation and hygiene practices, low vaccination coverage, and limited surveillance.
The Covid-19 pandemic compelled health authorities to shift focus on controlling the spread, which led to a halt in all other healthcare support and immunisation programmes. The floods last year further amplified challenges as flood-affected areas witnessed an uptick in disease outbreaks. Many of these regions remain vulnerable to typhoid. With a sudden growth in cases, physicians have called for countrywide vaccination and urged people to take necessary precautions such as avoiding excessive use of antibiotics. Evidently, our healthcare system remains in a state of disrepair, and it is the most vulnerable who bear the brunt of it. Prof Syed Amjad Taqweem, the chief executive officer of Health Net Hospital, suggests that practitioners must develop a habit of conducting a culture test in cases of fever due to infections instead of prescribing antibiotics indiscriminately.
Healthcare authorities need to ensure that doctors in both public and private facilities are equipped with relevant expertise to treat patients to reduce the risk of incorrect diagnoses and ineffective treatments. Additionally, year-round awareness and immunisation campaigns should be carried out to encourage people to undertake precautionary measures. Pakistan remains susceptible to disease outbreaks because of multifaceted socioeconomic challenges gripping the country. Therefore, the health authorities need to step up and issue timely warnings to avert fatal outbreaks as well as tighten control and monitoring over healthcare practices.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2023.
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