The number of gastroenteritis cases in Karachi has been steadily increasing, a statistic that doctors claim is ticking upwards because of the consumption of contaminated water for drinking purposes owing to the shortage of gas and its soaring prices which has forced many people to use water without boiling it.
Water supplies to the city had been found to be highly contaminated on multiple occasions. The general practice is to properly boil or filter to make it safe for drinking.
Faiza Ilyas from Dawn talked to the doctors at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), where around 1,500 patients daily report to the emergency department, shared that the cases of gastroenteritis had seen a rise in recent days.“Currently, gastroenteritis constitutes 70 to 80 percent of our cases being reported at the hospital’s emergency department on a daily basis. There are a few cases of cholera as well,” shared CHK additional medical superintendent Dr Liaquat Ali Halo.
Patients have been complaining of acute watery diarrhea and are administered intravenous fluids for rehydration.
Most patients are discharged within a few hours while some require admission.
Dr. Halo said the reasons behind the increase in gastroenteritis cases as lack of chlorination and filtration been a major factor that contributed to frequent episodes of outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the city, besides consumption of contaminated foods from roadsides and poor hand hygiene.“Many patients tell us that they are forced to use unboiled water for drinking as gas supplies are highly inadequate in their localities and the filtered water has become costlier,” Dr. Halo said, adding that inadequate cooking and eating contaminated raw food and vegetables could also cause illnesses.
Commenting on the city’s public health situation, Dr. Altaf Hussain Khatri, a senior general physician based in the old city area, said gas shortage amid a drastic increase in prices of food and utilities had made the survival of poor families extremely challenging.
“The gas shortage has further compounded miseries of the masses and compromised public health,” he said, adding that along with gastroenteritis, patients with respiratory infections were still reporting in high numbers to general physicians.
“They are very effective as they filter sediments and kill pathogens,” he said.
