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Health minister shows concern over growing TB cases

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid today expressed her concern over growing number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the country.
She was speaking during her visit to Syed Muhammad Hussain Government TB Sanatorium Samli, Murree. “Every year more than half million new cases of TB are emerging in Pakistan and approximately 15,000 developing drug-resistant TB, making Pakistan fifth among TB high burden countries worldwide and it accounts for 61 per cent of the TB burden in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region,” she regretted.
While pointing out a recent report of World Health Organisation (WHO), she said: “I am sad to know that Pakistan is also estimated to have the fourth highest prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB globally,” said the minister.
Key reasons, she added, for the emergence of drug resistance form of TB include delay in diagnosis, unsupervised, inappropriate and inadequate drug regimes, poor follow-up and lack of a social support programme for high risk populations.
Dr. Yasmin Rashid stressed all factions of society to come ahead for an effective awareness drive to root out tuberculosis. “TB treatment programme DOTS was a ray of hope for patients; the problem was that patients usually stop using medicines due to which virus gets strong,” she noted. The minister visited all department of the sanatorium and expressed her satisfaction over services being provided there.

Relevant: South Korea said it will recall Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccines manufactured in Japan as arsenic, a toxic substance, was detected.

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare stopped distribution of new BCG vaccine products in August after it found a low dose of arsenic in the vaccine’s physiological saline.

According to the ministry, a vaccine could contain up to 0.26 parts per million (ppm) of arsenic, 1/38 of the maximum amount allowed per day.

The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said a shot of the BCG vaccine contained up to 0.23 ppm of arsenic, exceeding South Korea’s standard of 0.1 ppm. It decided to recall the products as a precaution.

The Japan Medical Association held a press conference on Thursday to denounce the Japanese government’s late announcement on the arsenic-contained BCG vaccine for infants, according to Kyodo News. BCG vaccines are used against tuberculosis in infants.

Japan’s healthy ministry halted distribution of BCG vaccines, manufactured by Japan BCG Laboratory after it received a report that detected arsenic in the vaccine’s saline solution. It didn’t immediately announce the decision as it found that the level of arsenic concentration is minimal without the potential to cause harm.

The ministry’s research showed that arsenic was from the heated glass bottle that contained the BCG vaccine.

M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.