Containing a virus: AKU, Dow experts to help alleviate rubella
Two more cases of measles reported in Sajawal district on Wednesday.
Two more cases of measles reported in Sajawal district on Wednesday.
KARACHI:
Medical experts from the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) will be helping the court pass an order that can effectively alleviate the spread of rubella virus in Sindh.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) passed this order on Wednesday while hearing the suo motu proceedings of the deaths from rubella virus in Sajawal. Headed by SHC Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, the bench also told the health secretary and the project director of the extended programme on immunisation to make "fullest and sincere" efforts to prevent and cure rubella virus in the province, particularly in the districts of Sajawal and Thatta, where the deadly disease has reportedly claimed the lives of 48 children.
The bench also repeated its directions to the health secretary to submit a detailed report along with the relevant material regarding measures taken to stop the spread of the rubella virus and measles in the province, including the two worst-hit districts.
The judges also issued notices to the vice chancellors of DUHS and AKUH to depute their experts on this virus and the necessary medicines and assist the court pass appropriate orders to alleviate the situation. Meanwhile, notices were also issued to the federal health secretary, the provincial chief secretary and the Karachi chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association for May 22.
Application
A lawyer, Zulfiqar Ali Langah, had made an application to the SHC CJ to take notice of the authorities' failure to control the situation in the two districts, where many children are still suffering from the deadly disease. He said that the rubella virus has struck Sajawal and Thatta, where the epidemic has claimed the lives of 48 children in a short period of time. Many others were also suffering from the same disease, he claimed.
According to the advocate, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine can protect children and adults from the diseases but many residents of these districts cannot afford to buy them. "A single dose of the vaccine costs Rs600 at private clinics, while two doses were required to immunise the children against the disease," he explained. "Therefore, many people in these areas cannot buy the vaccine or get their children immunised."
The applicant said that if a pregnant woman caught the infection, it could prove to be fatal, especially in the first 20 weeks of the pregnancy. The child could be born with congenital rubella syndrome, which entails a range of incurable illnesses. Moreover, it also increases the chances of the woman having a miscarriage, he added.
Langah submitted that rubella is a highly contagious respiratory virus which has broken out in the province where the inoculation rate is quite low and many people do not have access to clean drinking water. He alleged that the doctors working at government hospitals and health centres advise residents to bring patients to their private clinics.
Two more cases
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, two more cases of measles were reported at the Taluka Hospital Sajawal. The health workers in different parts of the district believe several children have contracted the disease.
"Yes, we are receiving new cases every day but these aren't cases of rubella," said the hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Ameer Haider Shah. He said that all precautionary measures are being taken.
Sources informed The Express Tribune that the blood samples of the children who died in the villages and at the hospitals were not taken by the health officials and the officials are not sure how many children were affected by the fatal virus. The doctors said that the vaccination mostly affects those children who are physically healthy but a majority of the children in Thatta and Sajawal are malnourished.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2014.
Medical experts from the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) and Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) will be helping the court pass an order that can effectively alleviate the spread of rubella virus in Sindh.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) passed this order on Wednesday while hearing the suo motu proceedings of the deaths from rubella virus in Sajawal. Headed by SHC Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, the bench also told the health secretary and the project director of the extended programme on immunisation to make "fullest and sincere" efforts to prevent and cure rubella virus in the province, particularly in the districts of Sajawal and Thatta, where the deadly disease has reportedly claimed the lives of 48 children.
The bench also repeated its directions to the health secretary to submit a detailed report along with the relevant material regarding measures taken to stop the spread of the rubella virus and measles in the province, including the two worst-hit districts.
The judges also issued notices to the vice chancellors of DUHS and AKUH to depute their experts on this virus and the necessary medicines and assist the court pass appropriate orders to alleviate the situation. Meanwhile, notices were also issued to the federal health secretary, the provincial chief secretary and the Karachi chapter of the Pakistan Medical Association for May 22.
Application
A lawyer, Zulfiqar Ali Langah, had made an application to the SHC CJ to take notice of the authorities' failure to control the situation in the two districts, where many children are still suffering from the deadly disease. He said that the rubella virus has struck Sajawal and Thatta, where the epidemic has claimed the lives of 48 children in a short period of time. Many others were also suffering from the same disease, he claimed.
According to the advocate, measles, mumps and rubella vaccine can protect children and adults from the diseases but many residents of these districts cannot afford to buy them. "A single dose of the vaccine costs Rs600 at private clinics, while two doses were required to immunise the children against the disease," he explained. "Therefore, many people in these areas cannot buy the vaccine or get their children immunised."
The applicant said that if a pregnant woman caught the infection, it could prove to be fatal, especially in the first 20 weeks of the pregnancy. The child could be born with congenital rubella syndrome, which entails a range of incurable illnesses. Moreover, it also increases the chances of the woman having a miscarriage, he added.
Langah submitted that rubella is a highly contagious respiratory virus which has broken out in the province where the inoculation rate is quite low and many people do not have access to clean drinking water. He alleged that the doctors working at government hospitals and health centres advise residents to bring patients to their private clinics.
Two more cases
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, two more cases of measles were reported at the Taluka Hospital Sajawal. The health workers in different parts of the district believe several children have contracted the disease.
"Yes, we are receiving new cases every day but these aren't cases of rubella," said the hospital's medical superintendent, Dr Ameer Haider Shah. He said that all precautionary measures are being taken.
Sources informed The Express Tribune that the blood samples of the children who died in the villages and at the hospitals were not taken by the health officials and the officials are not sure how many children were affected by the fatal virus. The doctors said that the vaccination mostly affects those children who are physically healthy but a majority of the children in Thatta and Sajawal are malnourished.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2014.