By Shamila Keyani | Director Development
“I always took my son as a normal child who suffered from severe weakness due to serious spiritual problems. Since I couldn’t afford to visit hospitals in city, the only choice I had was to take my son to holy shrines for prayers for his healthy life. ”—Bilal’s mother.
No one in the family had a clue that 3 years old Bilal among 4 children was suffering from Marasmus, a severe malnutrition disease which is most common in children below 2 years of age but may be found in advance age. It is manifested by severe wasting of subcutaneous muscles and fats leading to diminished tone of muscles, excessive weight loss, growth retardation and failure of vital organs such as kidney, liver etc. Marasmus is most commonly due to dietary deficiency or some time due to severely restricted food intake. It is directly linked to illiteracy of mothers, low family income and larger family size.
Bilal was brought to UM Healthcare Trust after his mother learned about our free and quality medical service from her family friends. For the first time, Bilal was accurately diagnosed in our hospital with Masarum. He is now being given best and free treatment for his health restoration and his mother is briefed on marasmus by our doctors. She is also strictly advised to make frequent visits to UM Trust so that the baby condition is observed regulalry by our doctors.
Marasmus is a serious worldwide problem that involves more than 50 million children younger than 5 years. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 49% of the 10.4 million deaths occurring in children younger than 5 years in developing countries are associated with protein-energy malnutrition (PEM). Reference – Medscape
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