More people have died in Pakistan due to hepatitis than from dengue, yet this silent killer which afflicts almost 30 million citizens of this country has not been tackled yet.

In our rural areas the decease spreads through infected water and damages the liver.

In urban areas of Pakistan, such as big cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Quetta, Peshawar, etc., the major contributing factor for spread of this epidemic is the unethical practices of our dentists, who charge a premium fee, but fail to invest a meager amount on procurement of ultra-violet sterilisation equipment.

Almost 60 per cent of our dentists clean their surgical tools with plain water. Traces of blood left on their surgical tools from an already infected patient can infect all other clients that they attend to. The government fails to regulate medical services and the Pakistan Medical & Dental Association to enforce ethics amongst dentists.

AIDS is another fatal decease that can spread through infected surgical equipment used by dentists. It is time that the licenses issued to medical practitioners and dentists, who have failed to use recommended tools for sterilisation, must be cancelled and they be debarred from private practice.

Such unethical practice is also being carried out in private hospitals located in posh housing societies. It is time the federal and provincial governments enforce discipline amongst dentists, who mint money in private practice but refuse to provide value for money, their services secure from any complications.

M. TASSADAQ Lahore