By Julius Odeke

21^st March 2011

Participants at the health workshop: Photo by Julius Odeke

A health crisis is looming in the several parts of Uganda as HIV/Aids patients resort to using veterinary drugs used for treating dogs, cattle, and goats among others.

This is due to absence of Anti Retroviral [ARVs] drugs that are the rightful prescription for slowing the progression of HIV/Aids.  The sickening news was disclosed by Francis Akuta, one of the health educators in Katakwi district at a health workshop that was organized by the Ministry of Health to discuss the irrational use of medicines.

Akuta expressed shock as he revealed that many people suffering from the sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/Aids, syphilis, and gonorrhoea were resorting to veterinary medicines.

“…Most patients suffering from the sexually transmitted diseases do resort to getting treatment from the veterinary officers and this is posing a great danger to their lives since it’s unhealthy to do that… We are here discussing the use of irrational drugs, but we should bear in mind that in my home district of Katakwi, people are getting health complications due to the use of wrong drugs that are meant for animals”, Akuta said.

He named the health complications as sight problems among the victims, and also that some patients are getting disabled due to the continuous use of veterinary medicines.  He said the desperate practice is taking place in full view and with the knowledge of the district leadership.  No one, he said, “…has come up clearly to castigate the use of veterinary drugs by human beings”.

The Regional Inspector of drugs at the National Drug Authority (NDA), Solomon Onen, however said that there are some drugs that can be used by both animals and human beings.  Onen however advised that such drugs should always be prescribed by competent medical personnel who know how to administer the drugs after a thorough examination of the patient who is supposed to be treated.

Onen added that animals like dogs, cattle, goats, and sheep are normally treated using those veterinary drugs after they have contracted deadly diseases such as rabies, rinderpest, and anthrax.  He also said there is a section in the veterinary department that is mandated to sensitize the public on the usage of veterinary drugs.

“…You know these drugs are the same.  But it only depends on how we the physicians administer them to human beings so as to avert health complications.  It is our body temperatures that differentiate human beings from that one of the animals.  Otherwise we are in the same category”, Onen said.

He said that 30 percent of Uganda’s patients take inadequate medicine due to limited knowledge and added that such problems are causing deaths among in our communities because people are ignorant.  “…Irrational use of medicines is a major problem worldwide.  World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than half of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed and or sold inappropriately and half of all patients fail to take them correctly and consistently”, Onen said.

He urged professions to establish multi-disciplinary national, regional and district bodies that will coordinate the implementation of policies on medicine use in the country and encourage clinicians to use clinical guidelines whenever dispensing drugs to patients.  END.  Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.