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Thursday March 28, 2024

Hospitals run out of Influenza medicine

By Shahina Maqbool
January 16, 2018

Islamabad: The government’s state of preparedness for tackling seasonal Influenza H1N1 can be gauged from the fact that the hospitals of the federal capital do not even have the basic anti-viral medicine that is prescribed for its treatment.

The medicine is neither available in the market, nor in hospitals. Only two days ago, the executive director of Federal Government Polyclinic Dr. Zahid Larik wrote a letter to the Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Pakistan, requesting for provision of capsule Tami flu (75 mg) for the treatment of Influenza H1N1.

“The said medicine is not available in the market and currently there is an urgent need of this medicine for treatment of Influenza patients, both outdoor and indoor,” states the letter, urging WHO to arrange the same in the best interest of patients. The situation at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is no different.

Patients visiting these public sector hospitals for treatment of Influenza are being referred to private hospitals at a time when the government does not tire trumpeting its efforts for provision of free health care and treatment to people living below the poverty line.

While the National Institute of Health (NIH) continued its traditional practice of issuing seasonal alerts and advisories for the prevention, control, diagnosis and management of Influenza, and is even holding trainings and seminars for capacity-building of health professionals, the entire effort is put to shame if the basic requirement i.e., availability of medicines, cannot be ensured.

More than 120 people across Pakistan have thus far been confirmed as suffering from Influenza A, H1N1, with 20 deaths reported. Maximum cases have been reported from Multan, where delayed diagnosis and lack of medical facilities in hospitals have complicated the situation, with 47 people infected. In Islamabad too, 30 cases have thus far come to the fore.