KARACHI, Feb 21: At least six per cent children carry some kind of genetic abnormality all over the world. No official statistics are available for Pakistan , but because environmental pollution is widespread and ties of consanguinity are strong in the country, it can be safely assumed that the figure is as high as six per cent, if not more.
This was disclosed by the chairman of the National Commission for Biotechnology, Dr Anwar Nasim, at a seminar on "Air, water and ecosystem: our children's heritage" on Saturday. The seminar was jointly organized by Karachi University's Centre of Molecular Genetics and the British Council.
Dr Nasim said there were at least 4,500 genetic diseases. He pointed out that marriage among cousins, not uncommon in the country, was responsible for the spread of genetic diseases to a large extent.
He observed that recent advances in biotechnology had thrown up some problematic moral questions, such as whether parents should be allowed to choose the sex of their child. He added that the National Committee on Bioethics had been established two weeks ago to tackle these issues.
The director of Karachi University's Karachi Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Dr S.H. Mujtaba Naqvi, said the government was planning to put in place a mechanism whereby saline water would be thrown into the sea. He suggested that instead of wasting saline water it should be put to use and halophytes should be planted in it.
"We have totally neglected wind energy. Some studies suggest that in coastal areas windmills can produce a lot of energy. Cynics among us argue that windmills have failed in Pakistan because the three windmills put up in Karachi some time back have failed to operate efficiently. Those windmills would have made some impact if they had been installed in large numbers," he said.
Speaking on "Microbial pollutants of water: a far greater health risk for the growing minds and bodies", the chairperson of the department of microbiology at the University of Karachi, Dr Shahana U. Kazmi, said water that contained a large number of bacteria might be safe for drinking.
"The important consideration is that which kinds of microbes are present in water. Intestinal pathogens, causing typhoid, dysentery, cholera, etc are of prime concern. Human fecal material dumped in lakes, rivers and oceans has presented mankind throughout the world with colossal sanitary problems. Thus content testing of water is very important," she said.
Dr Shahid Amjad of the National Institute of Oceanography said Pakistan had the largest population of mangroves in the arid zone. "At least 25 kilograms of shrimp, 100 kilograms of fish, 15 kilograms of crabs and other things could be produced from one hectare of mangrove. Pakistan has 230 hectares of mangroves. Mangroves could also be used for producing honey," he said.
He pointed out that unplanned land reclamation, industrial contaminants, urban and agricultural run-offs, and construction works were responsible for the decrease in the population of mangroves in Pakistan.
Earlier, the British Council director, Charlie Walker, recalled that the British Council was established in 1934 "with the rather unwieldy title of 'The British Committee for Relations with Other Countries.'
He said: "The Times heralded the establishment of the Council by saying: 'No country today can expect to be understood if it remains aloof and passive. Foreign policy alone, however wisely conceived, cannot remove misunderstandings unless it works on a background of knowledge...' Seventy years later we continue to improve understanding between Britain and those 110 countries in which we work through a range of programmes which bring people from the UK into direct contact with colleagues and counterparts in Pakistan for mutual benefit."
The participants came up with three resolutions at the end of the seminar. They were: "Integration of efforts for monitoring and control of pollution; contribution of non-governmental individuals; and implementation of National Environmental Quality Standards."
Those who also spoke included Dr Lynne E. Macaskie, Birmingham University, UK; Dr Seema Jilane, NED University; Dr Badar Ghauri, Suparco; Dr Farhan Essa, Dr Essa's Labs; and Dr Uzma Badar, Centre for Molecular Genetics, University of Karachi.