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Amid the chilling winter season, a shortage of nebulizer machines is being reported from the government hospitals in Pakistan's Karachi leading to serious repercussions for the patients, vernacular media reported.
As per the report by Pakistan-based Express Urdu, the Karachi health department has not purchased nebulizer machines for the last two years. In the cold weather, the number of patients with various types of allergies, including chest, respiratory, and lung, is rising at an alarming rate in Karachi. There is no system to collect the data of affected patients at the official level. Medical experts who treat these diseases claim that the number of patients suffering from these diseases has increased by about 20 per cent during the current cold season. Due to the non-availability of nebulizer machines in government hospitals, the patients of these diseases are turning to private hospitals where the nebulizer charges are 800-1000 Pakistani Rupees (PKR) while low-income people are forced to buy this machine personally to maintain their breathing. Former Head of the Chest Diseases Department of Jinnah Hospital Prof Dr Nadeem Rizvi admitted that the people of Karachi are suffering from chest and respiratory diseases due to air pollution, toxic fumes from vehicles and factories, and burning of items including garbage, Express Urdu reported. He also said that the number of patients with pneumonia and asthma is constantly increasing. The health department officials said that it has been revealed that the government hospitals have not purchased nebulizer machines for two years, due to which there are no machines in the government hospitals of Karachi. Nebulization is being done by applying masks, but this facility is not available in 80 per cent of hospitals in Karachi. The nebulizer machine is not available in government hospitals established in district and rural areas of Karachi, but in some hospitals, the same nebulizer machine is being used on different patients, the vernacular media reported. (ANI)
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