Health dept is misreporting casualties of the measles outbreak: Haleem Adil Shaikh
Health authorities claimed that 87 children have died from measles throughout the province this month, but the actual number is more than 100, claimed Shaikh as he visited the Red Crescent Hospital in Sukkur on Sunday.
“I have visited many areas where the outbreak has claimed lives, including Salehpat taluka, which is the worst affected,” he said, adding that the situation demands immediate attention of the government. “The health department’s response has been lacklustre so far. This is highly condemnable.”
Meanwhile, as officials bicker over statistics, another five children fell prey to the virus in Khairpur, Salehpat and Rohri on Sunday.
This is not the first time that a government official has lashed out at the provincial health department for its response to the measles outbreak. Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Ahmed Shah was disappointed by the measures taken by the government to control the situation when he had visited Salehpat taluka on December 24.
It was then that the health authorities swung into action. A vaccination campaign has been scheduled to start in seven districts from Monday (today), where officials hope to reach children between the ages of nine months and 10 years.
Differing numbers
Government officials and international agencies have so far failed to agree on the number of lives claimed by the virus, which partly explains the absence of an adequate response in dealing with the situation. Sindh health secretary Dr Aftab Ahmed Khatri claimed, on Saturday, that 87 children had died due to the virus in December. Reports from different districts in the province, meanwhile, claimed that approximately 110 children had died. Several international news agencies, on the other hand, estimated that the outbreak had killed up to 193 children this year in Sindh, with a majority of these deaths having taken place this month. Sindh Health Minister Dr Saghir Ahmed confirmed 1,235 cases of measles, and 56 deaths across the province.
Incentivising people to visit hospitals
To encourage more people to turn towards conventional means of treatment, Shaikh awarded Rs10,000 to every parent who had brought their children to the hospital for treatment on Sunday. Anyone who will bring their ailing children to the hospital will get them treated for free, and will also be provided food and other necessities, he promised.
Shaikh also directed the Red Crescent Hospital administrator to arrange for additional beds so that a 50-bed special ward for children suffering from measles could be established. “I will personally bear the expenses,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2012.
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This outbreak of measles may be due to no vaccination, ineffective vaccination due to loss of cold chain or poor responders even if they received. Alternatively measles vaccination given at 9 months may not given enough immunity lasting longer in our own population. So some one should do epidemiological study to find out what went wrong. After that policy should be formulated to correct that. Due to the outbreak second injection of measles as a routine, may not be bad idea at 3 or 4 year of age or as infectious disease specialist think it necessary. Of course ongoing management of children infected with measles should continue along with those who are exposed, who have not shown symptoms and signs of disease. Unfortunately in malnourished children measles has been labeled as " killer disease" and is behaving like that. It is matter of shame that in 2012 we have epidemics of easily preventable disease.