Otsuka awareness campaign against Hepatitis
Re-capping of syringes are major cause of needle stick injuries -
Prof. Tariq Mahmood
Doctors practicing in rural areas and city suburbs
are still using same syringe for multiple purposes

KARACHI: Re-caping of syringes are major cause of needle stick injuries which could be avoided with little care by healthcare providers who are always at high risk of getting hepatitis B or C  infection due to needle stick injuries.   Pricking of I.V infusion bottles is also very common practice in our healthcare settings. Majority of health professional do not know how to re-cap the syringes and thus get infected.  Doctors practicing in rural and suburban areas are not keeping themselves abreast with the latest developments in the management of different diseases and were still using one syringe for multiple purposes on different patients. This was stated by Dr. Tariq Mahmood Associate Professor of Medicine at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi. He was performing the Otsuka Lucky draw in connection with Otsuka awareness campaign against hepatitis held at Otsuka Head Office on August 29, 2008. Mr. Abid Hussain CEO Otsuka Pakistan, Mr. Habib Navaid, Senior Director Marketing, Mr. Muhammad Ilyas Marketing Manager, Dr. Ashar, Deputy Marketing Manager Mr. Khalid Munir National Sales Manager, Mr. Muhammad Arshad, Product Manager and members of sales team of Otsuka Pakistan were also present at the occasion.

Prof. Tariq Mahmood, Associate Professor of Medicine at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi performing the Otsuka Lucky draw in connection with Otsuka awareness campaign against hepatitis held at Otsuka Head Office on August.

Dr.. Tariq Mahmood further stated that Awareness campaign being run by Otsuka Pakistan for the last many years  is commendable to create awareness among doctors and Para Medics. We should  emphasizes and make sure that used syringes are destroyed with syringe cutters which are otherwise being re-sold in the  market by lower staff of the hospitals with out knowing its consequences. He appreciated the role of the pharmaceutical companies who are investing a lot in various educational and welfare programmes otherwise our health delivery system could collapse, he added. Dr. Tariq urged the concerned authorities to purchase quality products and also ensure its availability at public healthcare facilities. Government Hospitals are mostly responsible for Tuberculosis spread because patients are not provided medicines required by the patients. Combination formulation which are available for treatment of TB are not available at public hospitals where patients are provide some drugs and asked to purchase others which they cannot afford and it leads to poor compliance. There is no improvement in our system because we try to misuse the authority and facility if provided. Medical Professionals, he said, must follow standard operating protocol and adopt ethical practices which will help them to protect themselves from getting infected from various diseases and also help to create awareness among the general public.

 Earlier Mr. Muhammad Arshad, Product Manager of Otsuaka Pakistan, highlighted the aims and objectives of Saviours Club and Otsuka awareness campaign against hepatitis.

Dr. Farzana Memon from Civil Hospital Karachi was the lucky winner of a bumper prize for the month of August 2008 draw.

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