Serious efforts needed to avoid outbreak

Rawalpindi

The three teaching hospitals along with almost all healthcare facilities in private sector in town have started receiving significant number of patients with gastroenteritis and the incidence of gastrointestinal infections is continuously on the rise.

Health experts believe that outbreaks of summer season diseases such as gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A & E etc may hit population if effective prevention and control measures are not adopted seriously both at community level and individual level.

Every year, the healthcare facilities in this region of the country bear an extraordinary burden of patients with gastro and like infections in summer mainly because majority of population is unaware of the preventive measures needed to avoid summer related gastrointestinal infections.

Experts say that poor sanitary conditions prevailing in various localities of the district, supply of contaminated and non-chlorinated water to residents and consumption of unhygienic food play major role in spread of gastroenteritis and bacterial infections because bacteria grow faster in hot and humid environment.

At community level, Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), cantonment boards, CDA and district health departments should adopt certain preventive measures in order to save people from hazards of summer season diseases, said a top official serving at Rawalpindi Medical College and allied hospitals pleading anonymity.

Talking to ‘The News’, he said to avoid gastrointestinal diseases, uninterrupted chlorination of water should be ensured at all main sources of water supply including wells in rural areas of the district. Monitoring of water supplies must be intensified and frequent sampling of water for bacteriological examination be ensured. Samples of Soda water should be collected from different soda water factories and sent to laboratory for examination, he said.

He added that contaminated foodstuff being served at a number of local hotels, restaurants and vendors is causing incidence of gastroenteritis and if proper action is not taken in time, the population may face a severe outbreak of gastro in coming days.

Health experts say that food samples should be collected from different hotels, restaurants, marriage halls and fast food outlets and sent to laboratory for examination. In case of unfit food sample, strict action must be ensured against defaulters. Strict measures should be adopted to check sale of rotten fruits, edibles open cut fruits such as water melons etc.

Deputy Director at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences Dr. Waseem Ahmed Khawaja expressed to ‘The News’ that to avoid outbreak of gastroenteritis, awareness campaigns must be launched against summer season hazards through electronic and print media. Without educating public on how to avoid gastro and like infections, it is hardly possible to avoid outbreak of like infections in the coming days, he said.

He added that at individual level, strict heat, water and food discipline must be adopted in order to avoid summer season health hazards. As far as water discipline is concerned, all drinking water needs to be made safe for drinking. This can be done either by boiling or chlorination of water with chlorine tablets or bleaching powder, he said. “It is important that PIMS received well over 4,500 patients with gastroenteritis last week.”

He said that concerned authorities must take action to monitor quality of ice being prepared at commercial level and individuals should prepare ice at home from boiled or chlorinated water. Fluids from vendors like sherbets, soda, sugarcane juice, rubric milk and like items should be avoided, said Dr. Khawaja.