DADU, Jan 15: On the directives of the Sindh chief minister, eight teams of doctors from the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences are examining skin patients at hospitals and medical camps set up by the health department in leishmaniasis-hit areas of the Dadu district.

The teams are headed by Prof Rafique Soomro, the dean of the faculty of community medicine and public health sciences, LUMHS, Dr A.H. Jokhio, Prof (Dr) Hussain Bux Kolachi, Prof (Dr) Doulat Bajaj, Prof (Dr) Younis Dahar and Consultant (Dr) Pervez Iqbal.

Medical camps have been set up in the Dadu Civil Hospital and Johi, Khairpur Nathan Shah, Mehar and Sehwan taluka hospitals. The teams provided treatment to 700 patients of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The patients were given injections of glucantine, stibotim, tablet flagyl, tablet avil and skin ointment while bed nets were also distributed. Slides of wounds of patients and punch biopsies were taken for research purpose.

The injections were provided by the district health department to patients on the advice of specialist doctors. The dynamic of disease transmission was studied in relation with time, place and person.

Prof Rafique Soomro told Dawn that cause of disease was explored under local conditions. He said leishmaniasis started with the bite of vector sand-fly which usually habitated in arid zones and came out during the evening and night.

He said the sand-fly injected parasite known as leishmania tropica through biting. He said spray of insecticides might be carried out from March to November which would be helpful in killing the sand-fly.