'Unhygienic clinics spread Hepatitis in IHK’

Srinagar, Jan 27 : The “unhygienic” chemist shops and dental clinics blamed for the spread of Hepatitis C infection in occupied Kashmir’s Takiya Magam village are still operating in the area as the Health and Drug departments has failed to stop their functioning.

Official sources told Greater Kashmir that although a joint team of Directorate of Health Services Kashmir and Drug Department visited the area soon after the outbreak of Hepatitis C and announced closure of “unhygienic” medical shops and some dental clinics and diagnostic centers, there was no follow up action on the issue. The team comprised Assistant Drug Controller, Anantnag (Islamabad) Muhammad Iqbal Palla, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Islamabad Dr Gulzar Ahmad.

 “Earlier, the officials revealed to media that they have initiated action against chemists, medical laboratories and dental clinics for violating the norms and operating in unhygienic conditions. But later most of them have broken the seal and started operating again,” the sources said.

“Despite repeated violations by the chemist shops in the area the Drug Department did not cancel their licenses. Last year also there was an outbreak of Hepatitis C in the area but the department did not act on the issue.”

The department had temporarily suspended the license of six medical shops for violating the norms in Magam and Sonabarie villages.

The Public Health experts said the people from the area have history of getting injections and minor procedures like circumcision done in neighborhood clinics and medical shops.
“As per the reports from the village heads and others, the people from the area go to these shops and get injections and glucose infusions,” they said.

According to them the unhygienic condition of the clinics is the main cause of the Hepatitis C. “It is caused by unsafe injections in Hemodialysis, blood transfusions, blood products and organ transplants infected with Hepatitis C. That is why there were clusters of cases found in the area,” the experts said.

When contacted, the CMO, Dr Gulzar Ahmad said: “We closed one dental clinic in Sagam and one diagnostic clinic in Kokernag. They are still closed,” he said.

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SA/EN