Curbing measles: Strategies adopted to combat outbreak

Every child under the age of 15 to be vaccinated.

ISLAMABAD:

Health experts and officials of the capital administration at a meeting held at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Tuesday devised short and long strategies to prevent blowing up of measles into an epidemic.

So far, in January this year, 21 cases of measles have been confirmed in the capital, the majority of which are reported from katchi abadis and rural areas where the coverage of routine immunisation is low, according to the officials affiliated with Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).

Sharing the details of the meeting, Dr Tabish Hazir, head of paediatrics department at Children Hospital, told The Express Tribune that two strategies were chalked out, one for the short term to tackle the outbreak before it attains epidemic proportions and the other for the long term.

Under the short-term strategy, a liaison through a hotline service will be established between hospitals and the EPI for ensuring quick response to a case reported from the twin cities.

CDA and ICT have been asked to identify high-risk zones in their jurisdiction so that mop-up campaigns can be carried out under which all the children below the age of 15 will be vaccinated against measles, he said. All the hospitals will be given a reminder to strictly follow the guidelines meant for the treatment of patients suffering from measles.



CDA Health Services Director Dr Hassan Urooj expressed concern of a vaccine shortage in the capital if every child under the age of 15 will be vaccinated against the disease. He also said there was an acute shortage of vaccinators in his directorate. There are only 12 vaccinators in the capital which means one for 10,000 to 12,000 children which is insufficient especially during a crisis.

When contacted, EPI National Programme Manager Dr Zahid Larik said at present there was no vaccine shortage in the country. “Currently, there is no vaccine shortage in any of the provinces or in the capital. There is a misconception about the measles outbreak in the country that is caused due to the shortage of vaccines which is completely wrong. It happens due to low coverage of routine immunisation and underreporting of cases,” he said.

A core group comprising officials from all concerned departments will plan a mass awareness media campaign on measles and will ensure 100% coverage of routine immunisation in their areas under the long-term strategy.

The meeting was attended by the heads of the public and private hospitals, officials of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), CDA and EPI.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2013.