Flood-affected surgical items threaten lives

A delegation of surgeons told GK that it is common for them to find the indications on surgical disposables hinting to the item being affected by flood waters. “Many a times, we have to halt an operation, and ask the attendants of patients to get a flood affected item replaced,” a surgeon said.
However, the surgeons are not sure that they are able to detect all the contaminations. “Not every contamination is visible to naked eye,” a senior urologist at a city hospital said. “We have observed that the severity of post-operative infections, sometimes as severe as life threatening, has increased after the floods. This indicates new and more dangerous strains of microbes around,” he added.
The delegation of surgeons expressed shock at the fact that the customers are sold contaminated goods in fresh and sealed packages, thus making it very difficult for anyone, but an expert eye, to discover the trick. Stakeholders are concerned at the lack of a mechanism in place to inspect the stocks available in market and certify these being free from contamination. Although, Drug and Food Control Organization (DFCO) has been trying to establish its pro-activity with customary raids of grocery shops and wholesale dealers and some medical stores, this arena seems to have been totally missed out.
Although flood affected hospitals were thrown open very soon after the floods and surgeries performed therein, surgeons at SMHS Hospital are skeptical about the outcome of these surgeries. They confessed a drop in their confidence and a deliberate attempt in reducing the number of cases performed. “In a successful surgery, it is the theatre, the equipment and the skill of the performing surgeon that counts. When we are not sure of the other two, how can we be confident of our skill?” a senior surgeon at SMHS Hospital asked.
When contacted, Dy. Controller, Drugs & Food, Kashmir, Nazir Ahmed Wani said, “We have a system in place to take note of any such complaints. Teams of Drug Controllers have been deputed in every district and helpline numbers made available to public to report any such incident.” However, experts believe that such a mechanism is no better than a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction where the onus of checking and reporting has been left on general public which often is ignorant about the mechanism to do so.
“The breakout of a post flood epidemic was averted but another epidemic is brewing up slowly. The outcome of this one where lethal, unknown organisms from sewage, sewers and chemical affected waters are being put into our bodies cannot be predicted, but will definitely be devastating,” a leading epidemiologist of Kashmir said.
Stakeholders are of the opinion that the government needs to act pro-actively to ensure that the flood affected surgical equipment, disposables and drugs do not find their way into the market and ultimately the human body.