Two suspected cases of measles reported

ISLAMABAD:

Two suspected cases of measles were reported in the capital on Monday.

The two children have been admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital. Their blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) for a confirm diagnosis.

The first child, Azmat, 6, is a resident of Bhara Kahu, while the second is a resident of a katchi abadi in Sector G-7.

When asked, Azmat’s father, Gul Khan said he never got his child immunized against measles.

Amir Ali Ahmed, the Islamabad Deputy Commissioner said all necessary measures will be taken in the respective localities to prevent the disease from spreading.

Capital Development Authority (CDA) Director Health Dr Urooj Hassan said one or two cases of measles emerging in the city is “a normal thing.” She said around two months back two cases of measles were reported from Golra area. She assured that efforts

However, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report states that 62 cases of measles were reported in two outbreaks in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) during 2012, which is alarming.

Officials of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) said the outbreaks were due to low coverage of immunisation and population movements in and out of the capital.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2013.