Rawalpindi sees sharp rise in measles cases

Punjab govt alerts authorities to expedite vaccination against contagious disease

RAWALPINDI:

Rawalpindi has seen a sharp increase in the number of measles cases in the current year despite vaccination.

Around 600 measles cases were reported in Rawalpindi since January 2022. The Rawalpindi district made it to the top in terms of the number of measles cases in the province.

Sources in the health department told The Express Tribune that despite vaccination, the contagious disease continues to spread among children. The Punjab health department also expressed concern over the continuous rise in the number of measles cases and directed health authorities to use all available resources to contain the spread of the disease.

According to sources, 25 per cent of infected children were those whose parents refused vaccination.

According to sources, 1,707 confirmed cases of measles have been reported in Punjab from November 6 to November 12. So far, 23 children have lost their lives to the infectious disease.

The sources said that the disease has not claimed any life in Rawalpindi during the current year.

Rawalpindi District Health Officer Dr Ahsan Ghani said that up to 600 cases were reported in Rawalpindi this year. He said that the figure was not that big given the number of population of Rawalpindi.

He said that all cases reported in allied hospitals of Rawalpindi and other health units were not from the Rawalpindi district but children from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other districts also get treatment in hospitals of Rawalpindi. “Our disease surveillance system compiles complete data of the children. The district health authority has developed software and response teams visit hospitals and areas where measles cases were reported.

He said that vaccination against measles was being provided at more than 100 basic health units in Rawalpindi.

Dr Ghani also said that they also provide awareness to the citizens against measles so that they vaccinate their children against the infectious disease. He said that the lives of the children were at serious risk who fail to get the vaccines. He said that the District Health Authority was fully aware of the situation in the Rawalpindi district and all measures will be taken to safeguard the health of the citizens.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2022.