Gone viral: Anti-measles campaign to be launched today

Hospitals in Karachi admit they have also received dozens of cases.

SUKKUR/ KARACHI:

A 15-day anti-measles campaign is scheduled to start in the city from today as it appears that the outbreak, which has taken hundreds of innocent lives in upper Sindh over the last month, has silently crept into urban areas of the province, as well.

Karachi health EDO Dr Imdadullah Siddiqui told The Express Tribune that officials hope to reach around 2.13 million children between the ages of nine months and 10 years during the drive. According to a health department statement, teams comprising 534 officials will vaccinate the children, while another 694 people will be stationed at various outreach stations.

The drive comes after several hospitals in the city indicated that they have received dozens of measles cases. A paediatrician at the Sindh Government Children Hospital (SGCH) in North Karachi, Prof. Dr Zubair, said that hundreds of children with measles had been brought to the hospital in the last four months. The National Institute of Child Health also confirmed that it received dozens of children with measles.



Symptoms and prevention

Measles is caused by a virus, and is particularly dangerous for children with vitamin A deficiency. Its common symptoms include runny nose, cough, red and watery eyes, small red spots all over the body, and papules on the face. A slight rash, usually on the face and upper neck, develops after a few days. It then spreads to the rest of the body over a period of three days, but fades after around six days. Further complications that could arise include pneumonia. Medical experts said that infants should be administered two anti-measles injections that will protect them from contracting the disease in the future.

Various hospitals have stepped up their own vaccination efforts as well. SGCH medical superintendent Dr Asif Zaman said that the hospital has given anti-measles injections to around 400 children on a daily basis, during the past couple of days. Prof. Aisha Mehnaz, head of pediatrics department at the Dow University of Health Sciences encouraged the government to organise anti-measles campaigns as regularly as it organises anti-polio drives.

Stagnant water in upper Sindh

One principle reason for the rapid spread of measles in multiple districts in upper Sindh is the water that has been lying stagnant since heavy rains lashed out these areas last year, said Colonel (retired) Sheheryar Akbar, who is working as a consultant with the provincial relief department.

He was talking to media personnel at the Red Crescent Hospital Sukkur on Friday, where he distributed food, bed sheets, blankets and cash among children suffering from the disease. Talking about the spread of the disease, Akbar said that around 22 villages in Salehput taluka in Sukkur district, are being threatened by the measles outbreak. Akbar said that health and relief department officials had visited villages in Sukkur, Shikarpur, Jacobabad and Kashmore districts, where they found that around 1,200 children were affected by the disease.

Health minister warns health officials

After suspending five health department officials for negligence on December 31, Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed on Friday warned health EDOs of further action if their performance was found below expectations.

Dr Ahmed directed the officials to provide media personnel daily reports on the progress of the vaccination campaigns presently taking place in eight districts of the province.

With additional information by agencies

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2013.