Gastrointestinal diseases: Experts underscore need for creating awareness

KARACHI: 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 said and called for creating awareness among people about 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 on the occasion. 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 pandemic 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, 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-based solutions for the detection of gastrointestinal disorders in Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022