Epidemic: Four more children die of measles

A total of 81 children have died and 12,082 cases of the disease reported in the province in the last five months, according to figures kept by the Health Department. Most of the cases have been in Lahore, Gujranwala, Rajanpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Kasur.

Health Services Director General Dr Tanveer Ahmed told APP that most of the deaths had been caused by severe pneumonia among children who had been brought to the hospital late into the disease.

He said that the measles vaccine was available in all hospitals of the city in ample quantity and was free. He urged parents of unvaccinated children up to five years old to get them immunised without delay.

The government conducted a measles vaccination drive in Lahore earlier this month for children aged between six months and 10 years and immunised over 2.5 million. A vaccination campaign will now be launched on June 11 in 11 other high-risk districts.

Presiding over a meeting to review the anti-measles drive in Lahore, Caretaker Health Minister Salima Hashmi said that next month, health teams would aim to get the vaccine to 11.347 million children in Bhakkar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Okara, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Rajanpur, Gujranwala, Rahim Yar Khan and Sheikhupura.

The World Health Organisation and the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (Unicef) have assessed the campaign in Lahore and declared it to be of an international standard. The remaining 24 districts of the province will be targeted in the next phase of the vaccination campaign.

Unicef representative Rana Muhammad Mushtaq said that the measles vaccine was being imported so that the last phase could be launched as soon as possible. WHO representative Dr Abidi Nasir and Dr Mushtaq appreciated the measures taken by the Punjab government and Health Department to control measles.

Health Secretary Arif Nadeem and Health DG Dr Tanvir Ahmed also attended the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2013.