Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, July 12: Following outbreak of Hepatitis-B at various places of Kashmir in the last few months, doctors have warned that the disease may spread like a wild fire to entire Kashmir in coming months if swift and proper medical treatment is not provided to the patients.
A top official of Health Department termed the outbreak of the disease a “serious matter” and said the Health Department had collected samples from a number of patients suffering from this disease since decades. In the districts of Anantnag, Pulwama and Kupwara, the Health Department has found an alarming increase of patients infected with the disease.
The official said the Health department, Kashmir, must act on emergency basis to arrest its spread, else “it can be devastating” for people of Kashmir.
“The disease has been spreading due the official apathy towards the health sector in Kashmir. Quacks are selling medicine, especially in villages and that is one of the main causes of Hepatitis B, the official said.
The official also blamed the doctors for misleading people about spread of the disease. “There are some doctors who mislead people by saying that the disease is spread by the use of contaminated water; this is not true. It (Hepatitis-B) is a chronic disease here, and it spreads by re-using of syringes, needles and is also transmitted through blood and body fluids,” he said.
The official cautioned that “in chronic form, Hepatitis B can cause severe symptoms such as damage to the liver and even lead to liver cancer, while as acute form leads to weakness, fatigue, fever, vomiting, as well as yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes.”
Pertinently, Hepatitis-B broke out in Kaker village of Kupwara district of North Kashmir with more than 50 persons including five members of a family complaining of symptoms of the disease. And similarly, the disease has broken out in Anantnag and Pulwama district.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel