The northern city of Rajshahi is facing an acute shortage of oral rehydration saline despite a sudden spate in the incidence of diarrhoea, flue and other viral ailments, doctors said.
Of late there has been a rush of patients suffering from these ailments at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital as well as a host of public and private health centres in the city, they said.
But the patients are not getting oral saline of Social Marketing Company, they said.
Medicine shops in the city are flooded with substandard oral saline of unknown companies, they said.
Doctors said that the city's growing environmental pollution and overcrowding contributed to increased patient flow which otherwise would be a 'seasonal problem.'
The incidence of viral ailments increased in the city over the recent weeks, said Saifiddin Ekram, head of the neonatal medicine at RMCH.
He suggested city dwellers to take special care to keep the houses and yards clean and dry and to ensure that water did not get deposited anywhere.
He also called for proper disposal of abandoned pots, containers, old tyres and coconut shells, and other garbage so that no rain water could get deposited to help breeding of mosquitoes, which transmit virus.
They advised people to stay away from patients who could infect others by sneezing and coughing.
Doctors also advised fever patients with respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis to seek emergency medical treatment.
They said that though fever subsides in a few days, irritating coughing and weakness persist for more than two weeks or longer.
RMCH child specialist professor AB Siddique said, 'In most cases, no medicine is required, but the patients should take more liquid and normal food.'
Doctors suggested oral saline and normal food for babies.
They said that babies should be breastfed.
They suggested people to consult doctors immediately if they have red rashes, bleeding from nose or teeth or blood vomiting with fever.
The patients, with previous respiratory problems, were advised to take a course of antibiotics but only on doctors' advice.
Asgar Ali said that his grandfather was under treatment at RMCH and as the hospital authorities were unable to provide enough saline, he had to go out to buy it.
He said that only then he came to know that no oral saline of SMC was available in the market, and the medicine shops offered him `low quality' saline of unknown companies.
SMC sales manager Nurun Nabi told New Age that this year this year the demand was higher than the company's production target of 150 crore packets.
He said that taking advantage of the demand some dishonest companies were selling substandard oral saline and often they were faking the SMC level and packet.
He said that last year SMC sued Universal Company of Pabna for duplicating the packet of SMC.
He said that the court ordered to confiscation of fake saline of Universal Company.
Nabi also said that about seven companies in Bangladesh were producing oral saline taking food processing licence.
These companies have no licence to produce medicines, he said.
Many patients complained that the medicine sellers were charging extra price taking advantage of the shortfall in supply.
They blamed inaction of the Drug Administration for the unacceptable situation.
When contacted, Mirza Mohammod Anwar Hossain, assistant director of Drug Administration, admitted that a persistent crisis was troubling the patients.
He told New Age that indeed some company were selling substandard oral saline.
He also said that due to shortage of personnel the Drug Administration was unable to check this illegal practice.
Source : New Age
