Health emergency: 13 more children fall prey to measles outbreak in Sindh

Vaccines vanish from markets in Karachi; conflicting claims on death toll.

SUKKUR:

Measles continues to exact a staggering toll on Sindh’s children in its rural parts, as 13 more fell prey to the epidemic on Thursday.

Two children died in the Sinjhoro area of Sanghar district. A child also expired in the Luqman Shahani village of Dadu district.

Two children died in Thatta, taking the toll of fatalities caused by measles in the district to six. Despite a health emergency declared in Thatta, District Health Officer Dr Agha Iftikhar denies that measles has claimed any life in the district.

In taluka Ghora Bari, eighteen-month-old Hameeda Lashari died in village Ahmed Lashari and one-year-old Haroon Gabol expired in village Ibrahim Gabol for similar causes. According to reports, two children also died in the Pano Aqil city of district Sukkur, one child in Kandkoth city, one in the Nara area of Khairpur district and two in taluka Salehpat.

Shortage of vaccines

Adding to the misery, medics and the administration of several private hospitals have asked the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) for anti-measles vaccine as there is an acute shortage of the vaccine in Karachi, while the combined vaccine for measles, rubella virus and mumps is also scarce in the market.

Experts said that anti-measles vaccine was injected in a single dose but its supply was stopped once the combined vaccine was invented. They have asked for EPI’s support, as the single dose vaccine was only available with EPI and used in government hospitals.

Pakistan Paediatrics Association’s president, Iqbal Memon, said that the disease spread rapidly in winters and can be prevented with two anti-measles injections in infancy. Paediatrics say that the third dose against measles does no harm, and that it further prevents children from the disease.



Health department’s stance

A source in the health department said that the department alone cannot be blamed for the outbreak of measles which according to him resulted in more than 100 deaths.

Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Sukkur, Dr Jay Ram Das told The Express Tribune that people living in remote areas are not able to bring their children to the health centres, due to a lack of transport facilities. He said that currently there are a total of 127 vaccinators in district Sukkur but most of them are part of the anti-Polio drive.

Das said that even though the anti-measles campaign was not as effective as the anti-Polio drive, children that were brought to the health facilities were vaccinated

Sindh health minister

Sindh health minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed told The Express Tribune that more than 100 children have died so far due to the measles outbreak.  He added that the death toll stated by the WHO report is the total number of children who died in the year 2012.

The minister said that vaccination drives in the province have begun, and will continue till January 11.

Conflict over death toll

The World Health Organization (WHO) has put the death toll in Sindh to 210. However, the provincial government claims that, some 100 children have died due to the disease. People from different villages of taluka Salehpat of district Sukkur say that more than 80 children have died in Salehpat alone during the month of December 2012. Independent sources claim that 129 children have died so far in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2013.