KARACHI, Feb 27: There are more than 1.5 million patients suffering from Tuberculosis (TB) in the country and they are exposed to HIV/Aids and there is a need to interlink programmes on TB and HIV/Aids as in both the diseases a patient loses his immunity.

These views were expressed during the scientific session on HIV/AIDS and TB organised on the final day of the third annual symposium of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) here at its campus on Tuesday.

The session was attended by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, Advocate-General Sindh Anwar Mansoor, DUHS vice-chancellor Prof Masood Hameed Khan, Prof M Zaman Shaikh, Dr Ashraf Sadiq, Secretary Inter-provincial Coordination Methab Akbar Rashidi, Prof Inkisar Ali and Prof Salahuddin Afsar.

The director of the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases Karachi, Dr Ashraf Sadiq, elaborated the relation between HIV/Aids and TB. He informed the audience that in both the diseases, due to loss of immunity and a patient became more vulnerable to other diseases.

Dr Sadiq was of the view that 3.5 million died due to Aids globally, while it was seen to be associated with TB. He suggested that programmes for HIV/Aids and TB in Pakistan should be interlinked, which would greatly help to combat these health issues.

Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman said that all over the world Aids had become a killer disease and around 38.6 million people were suffering from this ailment.

Speaking on the occasion, the DUHS vice-chancellor, Prof Masood Hameed Khan, said that 50 to 60 per cent people were suffering from one or another illness in Pakistan, henceforth health problems were on the upswing. Illiteracy is the root cause of all problems, so it is a need of the hour to promote education, he added.

Talking on diabetes, Prof Paul Thornelly of the UK said that advanced technology and treatment methods should be applied in diabetes patients to improve their quality of life.

Prof Samad Shera and Prof M Zaman Shaikh discussed the causes of diabetes in children under 10. They stated that it was increasing due to obesity, excessive use of cold drinks, fast food and oily foods and lack of physical activities.

Dr Altaf Anwar stressed the need to employ latest instruments available for diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal problems. As these instruments are not available in the country, he was of the view that those be made available at the earliest, as millions of people were suffering from gastrointestinal disorders in Pakistan.