Pakistan Link Headlines

15 million children in Pakistan suffer from TB every year

KARACHI : Pakistan stands sixth on the WHO list of countries, where tuberculosis has taken the shape of an epidemic.

The top five countries who have more TB patients are India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nigeria.

This was stated by Dr SM Afaq of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) while a talking to journalists. He said that Pakistan receives 0.4 million new cases of TB every year and added 0.15 million are children, below the age of 15. An alarming situation that WHO report has revealed is that of every four TB patients, one dies of this disease.

Giving statistics he said, in one year, till March 22, 2004, 61 children died of tuberculosis, only in the teaching hospitals of the country. There has been a record increase of TB among children in Pakistan.

In the year 2001 to 2002, 518 cases were detected. In the following year till March 22, 2003 new cases detected were 572 and till March 20 2004, 682 cases were registered.

“This situation is an eye-opener not only for heath officials and the World Health Organisation, but for the elected representatives as well,” said Dr Afaq.

The World Health Assembly has given the year 2005 as the target of detecting 70 per cent cases of TB and treating 85 per cent patients.

In Pakistan, the situation is as serious as the fact that only one doctor among 1,000 can properly detect the disease.

In Pakistan, 100 per cent children are succecptible and infected with TB baccili. Of these60 per cent are cured, while 40 per cent children have latent tuberculosis. This is the situation when the TB baccili are present in the body but do not cause disease. Such children suffer from low weight, constant coughing, indigestion and asthma, said Dr FAQ.

Dr Afaq said that the National Programme Officer for WHO Amanullah Ansari admitted recently in an interview that the DOTS treatment has been able to receive only 25 per cent of the target, whereas, till 2003 this target should have been 10 per cent.

Except for one or two hospitals patients do not get medication on time. Dr Afaq was of the view that the DOTS treatment has become a joke in Pakistan.

The concerned staff should be engaged in reporting and the funds should be spent on the provision of medicines to the patients. At present, the situation is that medicines are not available even in even teaching hospitals. This is inspite of the fact that Rs 160 million have been allocated for PCIO.

The only solution left for TB is to provide free medicines to patients as the BCG vaccination has become ineffective. Therefore, there is no way left to protect children. This situation has taken the shape of a volcano and if necessary, steps were not taken, by the year 2020, five million Pakistanis will die of tuberculosis, he said.

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	15 million children in Pakistan suffer from TB every year KARACHI : Pakistan stands sixth on the WHO list of countries, where tuberculosis has taken the shape of an epidemic. The top five countries who have more TB patients are India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nigeria. This was stated by Dr SM Afaq of the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) while a talking to journalists. He said that Pakistan receives 0.4 million new cases of TB every year and added 0.15 million are children, below the age of 15. An alarming situation that WHO report has revealed is that of every four TB patients, one dies of this disease. Giving statistics he said, in one year, till March 22, 2004, 61 children died of tuberculosis, only in the teaching hospitals of the country. There has been a record increase of TB among children in Pakistan. In the year 2001 to 2002, 518 cases were detected. In the following year till March 22, 2003 new cases detected were 572 and till March 20 2004, 682 cases were registered. “This situation is an eye-opener not only for heath officials and the World Health Organisation, but for the elected representatives as well,” said Dr Afaq. The World Health Assembly has given the year 2005 as the target of detecting 70 per cent cases of TB and treating 85 per cent patients. In Pakistan, the situation is as serious as the fact that only one doctor among 1,000 can properly detect the disease. In Pakistan, 100 per cent children are succecptible and infected with TB baccili. Of these60 per cent are cured, while 40 per cent children have latent tuberculosis. This is the situation when the TB baccili are present in the body but do not cause disease. Such children suffer from low weight, constant coughing, indigestion and asthma, said Dr FAQ. Dr Afaq said that the National Programme Officer for WHO Amanullah Ansari admitted recently in an interview that the DOTS treatment has been able to receive only 25 per cent of the target, whereas, till 2003 this target should have been 10 per cent. Except for one or two hospitals patients do not get medication on time. Dr Afaq was of the view that the DOTS treatment has become a joke in Pakistan. The concerned staff should be engaged in reporting and the funds should be spent on the provision of medicines to the patients. At present, the situation is that medicines are not available even in even teaching hospitals. This is inspite of the fact that Rs 160 million have been allocated for PCIO. The only solution left for TB is to provide free medicines to patients as the BCG vaccination has become ineffective. Therefore, there is no way left to protect children. This situation has taken the shape of a volcano and if necessary, steps were not taken, by the year 2020, five million Pakistanis will die of tuberculosis, he said.
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