KARACHI: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has warned people to take all precautionary measures against the possible outbreak of water-borne infections during the current monsoon spell, according to PMA Secretary-General Dr Qaisar Sajjad
He said that there are higher chances of water contamination consequent to rain and mixing of wastewater with the potable water while adding that measures were needed to ensure safe drinking water at every level.
Urging the citizens to consume boiled or mineral water, the PMA official said conditions such as typhoid, hepatitis A and E, and cholera are increasingly being registered in the country due to human consumption of contaminated water. “The situation is extremely dangerous for our kids,” said Dr Sajjad and stated that thousands of children below the age of five years die every year owing to waterborne diseases.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was said to have already issued a health warning for Pakistan, alerting people against an ongoing outbreak of “extensively drug-resistant” typhoid fever that does not respond to most antibiotics. “The warning must neither be ignored by the government nor by the people in general,” said PMA Secretary-General.
Reiterating that PMA was committed to realising its responsibility in this regard, he said CDC has also advised people to take extra care with regard to food and water consumption besides getting themselves vaccinated against typhoid.
PMA is actively engaged in educating people about the importance of proper hand-washing, safe food and water consumption.
Dr Qaiser Sajjad said people must avoid eating from the bazaar or places with little consideration for hygiene or drinking water and beverages with ice of unknown purity. He said Eidul Azha just ended on Friday which makes it important that people are persuaded about hygiene and cleanliness besides moderation in food intake.
