LARKANA: As cases of skin, vector-borne and waterborne diseases register a sudden rise in the city and its rural areas in the wake of heavy rain and flood, all widely used anti-pyretic, anti-emetic, anti-malarial and anti-diarrheal medicines have disappeared from medical stores in the district.

The drug wholesalers and retailers claimed the widening gap between demand and supply due to a variety of reasons had led to acute shortage of medicines.

A senior medical practitioner, Dr Mool Chand, confirmed on Friday that Pandaol, Flagyl, Genem, Basoquine were hardly found in stores and said the shortage was artificial. It was part of tricks of the trade which drug dealers and medical store owners used -- to maximize profits.

Amanullah Shaikh, president of Larkana chapter of the Chemists and Druggists Association, blamed the shortage on slower pace of drugs supply by companies. “The rise in malaria cases is four times higher than these days the routine seasonal increase in the disease,” he said.

The rise in malaria cases has naturally increased the demand for anti-malarial drugs which are unfortunately in short supply. Damaged communication links and limited production of medicines were to blame for the shortage, he said, adding that a packet of Panadol which was sold at Rs350 was hardly available at Rs750 to Rs880 nowadays.

Abdul Hameed Shaikh, senior vice president of the association, said that oral re-hydration salt (ORS), Fansidar and Resochin tablets and Brufen syrup were also in acute shortage as the wholesalers and the companies had reduced their supply. Phenobarbitone tablet used in epilepsy was also in short supply, he said.

He cautioned that a serious situation might develop when malaria would attain alarming proportions due to stagnant floodwaters which provided favourable breeding ground to mosquitoes.

He said the shortage might last till December 2022 or January 2023, therefore, the association demanded the prime minister ensure increase in production of drugs to meet growing demand.

Dr Mushtaque Shaikh, a wholesaler, blamed black-marketing of medicines for the acute shortage of anti-pyretic, anti-emetic, anti-diarrheal and anti-malarial medicines.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2022