Measles outbreak in Ghotki claims one life

Hundreds of children infected in two months

SUKKUR: Hundreds of children in Ghotki and its surrounding areas have been infected with measles and, so far, one death has been confirmed. Most parents are either taking their ailing children to private hospitals or resorting to traditional healing.

So far only one casualty has been reported from Jhando Sanghar village - four-year-old Rizwan Ali Sanghar.

The medical superintendent of Taluka Hospital, Ghotki, Dr Lutufullah, told The Express Tribune that the severity of the disease has been reduced during the last week. Earlier 10 to 12 children were brought to the hospital’s outpatient department, out of which we would admit two to three, he said.  “Most people prefer to take their children to private hospitals and clinics instead of government hospitals,” he explained.

Dr Pribh Das, who runs a private hospital in Ghotki, said that the measles outbreak has been continuing for the last two months. Eight to 10 children are brought to his hospital every day and so far only one casualty has been reported.  “The severity of the virus is much less than in 2013, when hundreds of children lost their lives,” he claimed.

According to him, measles take seven days to subside and it is important to provide proper nutrition to the patient.  “It is a common practice in rural Sindh that people stop giving any food and even water to the infected child, due to which their immune system becomes weaker,” he explained.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2017.