Super Speciality Hospital doctors warn of unapproved therapies
Srinagar, Jan 25: Kashmir is witnessing more cases of Acute Liver Failure (ALF) than what is written in medical literature: these are exactly the words of a recent official communication. This deadly trend is sweeping through Kashmir, claiming lives, fuelled by the proliferation of unapproved complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), doctors said.
The crisis has prompted Department of Gastroenterology at Srinagar's Government Super Speciality Hospital (SSH) Shireen Bagh to sound the alarm, warning of a public health emergency that demands immediate attention and action. The letter addressed to Medical Superintendent of SSH Shireen Bagh has warned about the rising menace of unapproved complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in jaundice patients. In the letter dated December 9, 2024, Prof. Showkat Kadla, Head of the Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, urged the medical superintendent to address the issue with higher authorities.
“Over the past three months, the hospital has witnessed an epidemic of acute viral hepatitis, with a disproportionate number of acute liver failure patients. This has resulted in high mortality rates and referrals to liver transplant centers, causing significant financial and human losses,” Prof Kadla has said.
Patients receiving CAM have odd and atypical presentations, often requiring ICU care and liver transplants. "The cronyism that we are getting more patients of ALF than what is written in medical literature or what we have observed in past," the offixial communique reads. However, due to the unavailability of these facilities, many patients succumb to their illnesses or remain moribund.
Kashmir’s rural areas have a more acute problem. “Patients from rural areas, particularly those with definite hotspots, are presenting late with acute liver failure after receiving CAM from local and famous quacks," reads the letter.
Speaking to Greater Kashmir, Prof Kadla said the problem is very pressing in Srinagar as well where patients seek ‘miracle cures’ from some ‘so-called healers’. “At any given point of time, we have people admitted due to these dangerous formulations taken as Sharbats, powders and herbs,” he said. In addition, he said, the roadside meat preparations are also a serious cause of liver issues in the population, he said.
Not just jaundice, many people are seeking ‘alternative treatment’ for cancers, diabetes and other life threatening conditions as well. Prof Showkat A Zargar, former Director SKIMS Soura and noted Gastroenterologist said he receives many patients who have ‘wasted precious time trying these miracles’. “There is some quacks who even gives medicines to treat cancer and people end up with delaying their cancer treatment and sometimes the only chance of survival,” he said. He impressed that Government must act strongly against quacks and unapproved therapies. “How can someone claim to cure diabetes right under the nose of Government. Why doesn’t it evoke any response from the authorities,” he asked.
Dr Kadla has stated in his letter that agencies working in hospitals, in collaboration with quacks, are providing misleading counseling to patients' attendants, diverting them to unauthorized treatment centers. His department has urged the authorities to take immediate action to curtail this menace, emphasizing the need to protect public health and prevent further harm to society.