Hundreds of people including children are being brought to public and private hospitals in Karachi and other parts of Sindh due to acute gastroenteritis, a water-borne disease which cause watery diarrhea, senior health experts Sunday said and called for creating awareness among people about regarding prevention of food and water-borne diseases to minimize preventable deaths.
Urging government and the pharmaceutical sector to provide funds for research in the area of gastrointestinal diseases, water-borne ailments and blood-borne infections including viral hepatitis, senior gastroenterologists advised people to take precautionary measures by drinking clean water and avoid eating uncooked food from roadside vendors.
They were speaking at a signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pak GI and Liver Disease Society (PGLDS) and a local pharmaceutical firm for the launch of PGLDS Research Awards to be given to 10 top researchers for their papers in the field of gastroenterology during the coming annual conference of the society in the June 2022.
“There is a serious outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in Karachi and other cities of Sindh and hundreds of patients including children are being brought to hospitals for the treatment. Watery diarrhea is a serious health issue, which can take life of a healthy person within hours if immediate medical treatment is not provided to the patient”, Prof. Amanullah Abbasi, a senior gastroenterologist associated with PGLDS said while speaking at the MoU signing ceremony.
Prof. Abbassi claimed that research conducted by Pakistani experts also helped the world in understanding COVID-19 as dozens of papers on signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and its management were published in international journals and urged the government and the private sector to come forward and provide more funds for research in common health issues including gastrointestinal disorders and water-borne diseases in Pakistan.
Atif Iqbal, the managing director of the local pharmaceutical firm High-Q, which is providing funds for the research in the field of gastroenterology, said in addition to providing funding for research, they were going to import latest technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based solutions for the detection of gastrointestinal disorders in Pakistan.
“But we also need to conduct research locally to come up with our own solutions to the problems facing our people. We at High-Q believe in promoting research and would provide all the resources to the young doctors and postgraduate fellows”, Atif Iqbal said and hoped that PGLDS Research Awards would encourage and promote the culture of research in the field of gastroenterology and other areas of medical profession in Pakistan.
Patron of the PGLDS Dr. Shahid Ahmed informed that 10 young researchers would be awarded cash prizes for their research in the field of gastroenterology at the 4th annual conference of PGLDS, being held in June 2022 in Karachi and added that young doctors and trainees from regional countries and other parts of the world could also submit their papers for the research awards.
Renowned gastroenterologist Dr. Lubna Kamani deplored that due to inexperience and extremely busy hours, most of the young Pakistani health physicians were unaware of the art of medical writing and added that very little research was also being conducted by our young researchers in the field of gastroenterology.
Another senior gastroenterology Dr. Sajjad Jamil criticized the water and sewerage board authorities for failing to provide clean drinking water and urged people to take precautionary measures to prevent themselves from common water-borne diseases like diarrhea and cholera.
He also urged the teachers to educate children about hygiene, saying some basic health tips like using clean drinking water, washing hands before eating, avoiding unhealthy and junk food should be taught at schools along with languages, sciences and other subjects.
