Rubella virus: CJ takes notice of 48 deaths in Sajawal

Applicant alleges that many residents are suffering as they cannot afford the vaccine.

KARACHI:

The chief justice (CJ) of the Sindh High Court, Maqbool Baqar, took notice of the deaths of 48 children due to the rubella virus in two districts of the province. He also asked the health secretary to file a report.

CJ Baqar took notice on an application submitted by a lawyer and ordered the office to convert it into a constitutional petition. The hearing of the petition will be held on May 14.

Advocate Zulfiqar Ali Langah, the applicant, submitted that the rubella virus has struck the districts of Sajawal and Thatta, where the epidemic has claimed lives of 48 children in a short period of time. He added that many others were also suffering from the same disease.

According to the advocate, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine can protect children and adults from the diseases, but many residents of these districts cannot afford to buy them. He claimed that a single dose of the vaccine costs Rs600 at private clinics, while two dozes were required to immunise the children against the disease. Therefore, many people in these areas cannot buy the vaccine or get their children immunised.

The applicant said that if a pregnant woman caught the infection, it could prove to be fatal, especially in the first 20 weeks of the pregnancy. The child could be born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which entails a range of incurable illnesses. Moreover, it also increases the chances of the woman having a miscarriage.

According to the applicant, rubella is a highly contagious respiratory virus which has broken out in the province where the inoculation rate is quite low and many people do not have access to clean drinking water.

He alleged that the doctors working at government hospitals and health centres advise residents to bring patients to their private clinics. He pleaded to the CJ to take notice of the failure of the authorities concerned to combat the virus and pass appropriate orders.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2014.