Paulina Quintao – Clinical Director at the National Hospital of Guido Valadares Dr Flavio Brandao said that the number of kidney patients was continuing to increase each year due to problems accessing clean, filtered water across the country.
He said kidney disease was a public health issue that needed the attention of all relevant institutions to reduce the numbers. He said clean water supply systems across the country were unorganized and may be responsible for bringing various diseases to communities.
"Most of the population does not have access to filtered water especially in the mountains," he said, adding that sometimes people just drank the water directly without boiling or removing other impurities.
He said consuming unfiltered water that was not boiled properly could lead to many kidney problems.
To combat the disease, he said communities needed access to clean water that had been properly filtered and was free from bacteria and other contaminants.
Currently there are several patients receiving blood transfusions at the National Hospital to treat kidney problems, he said. The National Hospital has seven blood transfusion machines and patients are treated according to the schedule.
National Director for Hospital Support Horacio Sarmento said the majority overseas medical transfers were kidney patients as the national hospital lacked the capacity to provide treatment.
"We have already installed a hemodialysis machine at the National Hospital, but not at the referral hospitals yet because it is sensitive machine and needs [good] quality water," he said.
He said the government had an agreement in place with four large hospitals in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore to treat cases that the National Hospital was unable to.
According to Health Ministry data, 283 patients were transferred overseas for treatment in 2016. Of that number, 97% have since returned in a good condition, while 3% died.
Source: http://www.thediliweekly.com/en/news/14442-increase-in-kidney-disease-blamed-on-poor-quality-water-2