Measles epidemic: Officials play blame game over outbreak
A total of 2,475 cases were detected in Sindh in December alone.
A Pakistani mother tends to her young son suffering from measles at a Red Cross hospital in the southern Sindh province city of Sukkur on January 1, 2013. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
HYDERABAD:
As another six children died from measles during the last 24 hours, the Pakistan Medical Association (Sindh chapter) demanded that an inquiry commission be set up to fix responsibility for the unabated spread of the disease in the province. A total of 2,475 cases were detected in Sindh in December alone, according to Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed.
At a press conference on Tuesday night, Dr Sagheer said district health officers and vaccinators, the key players in the Expanded Program for Immunisation (EPI) and Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), were responsible for the measles outbreak in upper Sindh. “They are accusing each other but they are all responsible for the situation,” said Dr Sagheer, while avoiding to say what official action will be taken against them.
While one of the reasons that routine immunisation has been weakened is a dispute over jurisdiction between the EPI and PPHI, district health departments are also blamed for not responding immediately to the health crisis while it was developing.
Dr Sagheer said that the virus has spread to Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions, where health departments have been ordered to set up centres for vaccination and to send teams to affected areas. The minister said 1.5 million more doses have been procured from Islamabad.
According to him, measles claimed 210 lives in 2012, including 93 in December. However, these figures are considered to be an underestimation by many. “If the health officials are putting the total at 300, the actual figure will be more than double of what they tell,” said the chief minister’s relief adviser, Haleem Adil Shaikh. The adviser asserted at a press conference that the health departments are not even maintaining a proper record of the cases and deaths reported. He pointed out that, “A belated response came after improper routine immunisation, and it let the virus exacerbate”.
“Shifting accusations from one department to another will not do. We demand official action against those responsible,” said PMA Sindh General Secretary Dr Pir Manzoor Ali.
Ali alleged that not only are children being left out from vaccination campaigns, but even those who are receiving treatment are being administered substandard medicines. The PMA also charged the district health departments of embezzling funds which are meant to be used in emergencies, and appealed to the Supreme Court to take notice of the outbreak.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2013.
As another six children died from measles during the last 24 hours, the Pakistan Medical Association (Sindh chapter) demanded that an inquiry commission be set up to fix responsibility for the unabated spread of the disease in the province. A total of 2,475 cases were detected in Sindh in December alone, according to Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed.
At a press conference on Tuesday night, Dr Sagheer said district health officers and vaccinators, the key players in the Expanded Program for Immunisation (EPI) and Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), were responsible for the measles outbreak in upper Sindh. “They are accusing each other but they are all responsible for the situation,” said Dr Sagheer, while avoiding to say what official action will be taken against them.
While one of the reasons that routine immunisation has been weakened is a dispute over jurisdiction between the EPI and PPHI, district health departments are also blamed for not responding immediately to the health crisis while it was developing.
Dr Sagheer said that the virus has spread to Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions, where health departments have been ordered to set up centres for vaccination and to send teams to affected areas. The minister said 1.5 million more doses have been procured from Islamabad.
According to him, measles claimed 210 lives in 2012, including 93 in December. However, these figures are considered to be an underestimation by many. “If the health officials are putting the total at 300, the actual figure will be more than double of what they tell,” said the chief minister’s relief adviser, Haleem Adil Shaikh. The adviser asserted at a press conference that the health departments are not even maintaining a proper record of the cases and deaths reported. He pointed out that, “A belated response came after improper routine immunisation, and it let the virus exacerbate”.
“Shifting accusations from one department to another will not do. We demand official action against those responsible,” said PMA Sindh General Secretary Dr Pir Manzoor Ali.
Ali alleged that not only are children being left out from vaccination campaigns, but even those who are receiving treatment are being administered substandard medicines. The PMA also charged the district health departments of embezzling funds which are meant to be used in emergencies, and appealed to the Supreme Court to take notice of the outbreak.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2013.