ISLAMABAD: Eating uncovered cut fruits sold by the road side vendors can lead to typhoid, cholera and gastroenteritis among the citizens. The cut fruits being sold on the roadside are an open invitation to summer ailments, especially those related to stomach. In a report aired by a private news channel said, that during lunchtime, scores of people feed themselves on these cut fruits, oblivious of the fact that these are a serious health hazard. Reason being that vendors do not clean or cover the fruits properly. “There is an increase in number of patients suffering with stomach ailments and many patients are from the urban areas,” said head of gastroenterology department Dr Naseem Salahuddin. Many of these patients often eat roadside eateries and consume fruits,salad and other eatables sold openly in market, she added. Students too are major consumers of these eatables, she said. Dr Qaiser Sajjad, a health expert, warned the citizens that consumption of open eatables is not only dangerous, but poisonous too. “Fuel pollution which has harmful gases, carbon fumes, besides dust in the atmosphere settles down on cut fruits and uncovered eatables,” he said.