Measles claim lives of 20 children in 19 days in Sindh: Health dept

The children died in Tharparker, Tando Mohammad, Umer Kot and Hyderabad.

According to the department for health in Sindh, 20 children have died as a result of measles in the last 19 days, reported Express News.

According to Express News, ten died in Tharparker, four in Tando Mohammad, three in Umer Kot and two in Hyderabad.

With a deadly trajectory that commenced in Khairpur’s Thari Mir Wah in November 2012, the measles outbreak has rapidly spread throughout Sindh.

It was not until 100 children had suffered due to the disease that the authorities took action. Measles managed to claim the lives of as many as 370 children by January, according to unofficial sources.

In the ensuing directives, various health officials were fired on charges of negligence.

The outbreak was determined to be the result of non-administration of measles vaccine  for the last few years. In response, health officials have claimed that vaccinators and lady health workers have been preoccupied with the polio campaign at the government’s insistence.

Subsequent vaccination programmes though stemmed the epidemic.

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and lungs.

The first sign of measles is usually a high fever, which begins about 10 to 12 days after exposure, and lasts four to seven days.

The virus is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions. It remains active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to two hours and can be transmitted by an infected person from four days prior to the onset of the rash to four days after the rash erupts.

Unvaccinated young children are at highest risk of measles and its complications.