KARACHI, July 22: Around 1.2 million people, including 250,000 children below five years of age, die of waterborne diseases every year in the country.

This was observed by doctors at a programme on waterborne diseases organized by the scientific sub-committee of the Pakistan Medical Association on Saturday.

According to them, three million people suffer from waterborne diseases annually and the loss of precious lives and its consequent socio-economic cost can be avoided only if supply of clean water is ensured and simple hygiene practice is adopted by people. The doctors said that waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, gastroenteritis, hepatitis A and E had become a major problem in the country as water supply and distribution system had become obsolete and the quality of the so-called mineral water of 118 brands available in the market had been found below the standard.

However, what perturbed one of the participating family physicians, Dr Ross Masood Ahmed, more was the lack of awareness among general public about basic hygiene. He said, “Besides the government indifference towards the issue, lack of concern about hygiene among people particularly among the lower economic strata of society was worrying,” he added.

Dr Ahmed warned against use of ground water that contained certain chemicals, which could cause skin infections and hair loss. “The ground water in the old city areas is extremely dangerous while it is slightly better in Malir, Landhi and other suburbs,” he said, observing that the ground water even after being boiled is not purified completely. He said tap water should be boiled in a stainless steel container, which was the most effective method to disinfect water. “The widely-used water filters kill bacteria but not viruses,” he remarked.

He also underlined the need for creating awareness about the hazards of junk food.

Starting off her presentation with the world statistics about waterborne diseases, Dr Afia Zafar of Aga Khan University’s pathology department said about four billion episodes of diarrhoea resulted in an estimated two million deaths, mostly among children, every year. Waterborne bacterial infections may account for as many as half of these episodes and deaths, she added.Many deaths, she said, among infants and young children were due to dehydration, malnutrition, or other complications of waterborne bacterial infections. “Infection does not transmit only from consumption of contaminated water but also from exposure to contaminated water. Person-to-person transmission can take place if there is poor sanitation,” she said. She also advised people to avoid drinking the water and beverages with ice of unknown purity and uncooked/unpeeled vegetables or fruits.

PMA General-Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjar said the high mortality and morbidity owing to waterborne diseases reflected the apathy of civic agencies. The government must fulfill its basic duty and ensure provision of safe drinking water to everyone, he said.

Journalist Zubeida Mustafa stressed the need for health education and better ties between the media and medical fraternity to address the issue.