Petition on measles outbreak: ‘Health Department is misleading the court’

No one died of measles in the last 15 days, says Health Department DG.

LAHORE: The health services director general claimed on Tuesday that no measles-related death had occurred in the provincial metropolis in 15 days.

Director General Tanvir Ahmad told the court that over 10 million children were being administered measles vaccine in the ongoing anti-measles campaign.

The DG had appeared before the court of Justice Khalid Mahmood Khan in a petition against continuous deaths due to measles and the failure of the government functionaries to control the outbreak.

Advocate Azhar Siddique, the petitioner, rejected Ahmad’s account. He told the court that the deaths due to measles had been reported by the media. He said the Health Department was misleading the court.



He said an investigation carried out by a private TV channel showed that the vaccine being administered was causing deaths. He said it was established in the TV programme that the government had failed to maintain the required temperature for the vaccine from its import to its administration to children. The lawyer also submitted a CD of the programme.

Shaikh Zayed Medical College Principal Zafar Iqbal also appeared before the court. He has headed a committee probing into the deaths by measles to fix responsibility. Iqbal sought time from the court to submit the inquiry report.

An additional advocate general sought, too, time to file reports on behalf of all the district coordination officers about steps being taken to control the outbreak. The judge then adjourned the hearing till July 10.

In his petition, Advocate Siddique had stated that the government had not taken timely measures to control the outbreak. He also said that the measles vaccine was not available in the province.

The petitioner said that the federal and provincial governments had failed miserably to control the outbreak as a result of which many lives had been lost.

He prayed that a judicial inquiry be ordered to fix responsibility.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2013.