FAISALABAD: Groundwater contamination, use of infectious surgical instruments and adulterated food is playing havoc with Faisalabad residents as over one-fourth of the city’s population was infected with different types of hepatitis.
An abode to nine million people, the Faisalabad district randomly has over two million people infected with this injurious disease especially ‘Hepatitis C’ posing serious challenges to Health authorities in treating the patients.
With nearly three dozen well-known hospitals in the city, a few have proper treatment facilities to cure hepatitis C and most of the remaining, lack proper equipment.
Only the Liver Center at Allied Hospital-II being run on a public-private partnership, has the latest facilities but it is stated to be too costly for the poor patients who are the dominating demography of the district.
Most of the city’s population was dependent on underground water but the mushroom growth of mills and factories had polluted underground water in most areas in recent decades.
“The situation is critical as 28% of people are suffering from Hepatitis C alone and 4% from other types of hepatitis,” said Chairman of Liver Foundation Trust and former Principal of Punjab Medical College Prof Dr Zahid Yasin Hashmi.
He revealed that the Liver Foundation conducted free screening of hepatitis in 270 villages around Faisalabad and the cumulative number (32%) was alarming. “Most people ignore the gravity of this disease and bring patients to hospitals when the disease is at advanced stage. In the case of such patients, the recovery chances are very low.”
He urged to launch a vigorous awareness campaign to educate people and save them from this disease. “Faisalabad is a thickly populated city where its spread is alarming due to its epidemic nature.”
Zahid Hashmi informed that the Liver Foundation Trust was set up in 2003 on a public-private partnership basis and offers the best possible treatment. “Our Center is not restricted only to Faisalabad’s patients. But, patients from KPK, Balochistan and even Afghanistan also visit it. We also treat poor patients free of cost or on nominal charges.”
He also mentioned launching a Point Of Care (POR) in 2012 wherein two fully-loaded ambulances with a capacity to facilitate 300 patients each, regularly visit remote rural areas for diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis patients.
Hashmi regretted the lukewarm response of the government to this challenge. “We had floated a proposal in 2007 for liver transplant in Faisalabad costing Rs two million at a time when such a facility was established in India for Rs four million.”
He said the Liver Foundation has now planned to establish the Faisalabad Institute of Liver Diseases at Satiana Road as he stressed setting up a full-fledged liver institute to provide liver transplant facility to patients.
Although the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is mandated to supply water, it can provide potable water to only 40 percent populace with 60 percent still using water from other sources.
There are also complaints of water contamination in these decades back laid down WASA managed pipelines as some of them were already damaged making way for sewage to mix with fresh water.
In this scenario, health experts believe that a holistic approach was needed on planning, administrative and curing fronts to rescue citizens from the cruel clutches of hepatitis.
“Contaminated water and food items were the main causes of hepatitis A and E while hepatitis B, C and D spread due to the use of infectious surgical equipment,” said another health expert Dr Muhammad Anas.
He mentioned to unsafe use of surgical and injecting instruments, transfusion of infected blood, infected dental material, body pricking, piercing, tattooing and unhygienic use of razors, scissors, toothbrushes and care kits as common reasons behind the spread of hepatitis.
“There are very startling facts about testing facilities for adulterated food items in our country. Many adulterated food items are freely available in our market,” he stated.
Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), an organization meant for prescribing quality standards has its office in Faisalabad but there is no lab for immediate testing of food quality.
Though the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) also conducts random operation across the province and confiscate substandard food items small outfits and vendors are kept away from their eyes.
It is also worth mentioning that 150 water filtration plants were installed in different parts of Faisalabad but their capacity was insufficient to meet the portable water demand of the populace.
District Health Authority (DHA) Spokesman Abdur Razzak said the prevalence of hepatitis C was higher in the rural population due to the usage of infected surgical and injecting material and unhygienic food.
“All types of hepatitis (A to E) are prevalent in Faisalabad, but the number of patients suffering from Hepatitis-C is much higher,” he said.
The Punjab government has established a dedicated Cardiology Institute and a well-equipped Children’s Hospital at Faisalabad but there is no separate facility for hepatitis patients except the Liver Center. Although the Allied Hospital-I transplants different human organs including the kidney it also lacks a specific Liver Transplant facility.
In this scenario, the provincial government needs to chalk out an urgent awareness and treatment plan to save the residents of this third-most populated district from a lethal disease of Hepatitis.
