Reappearance of rubella

Rubella is preventable and Sindh government should be proactive in getting rid of virus before it claims more lives.

In order to alleviate the spread of rubella, the Sindh High Court has given orders to the Aga Khan University Hospital and Dow University of Health Sciences to help the court form directives that can effectively control the spread of the virus. This order is a good move as it involves the medical experts and helps formulate policies that can practically make a difference.

The chief justice of the Sindh High Court took notice of the disease after news reports claimed that more than 48 people have died in Sajawal and Thatta districts. These were unofficial estimates and the health authorities insisted that less than 10 children had contracted the virus. Nevertheless, it is crucial for the health authorities to spring into action and take urgent steps to control the virus. The fact that experts from two prominent medical universities in Karachi will be on board and will be helping the judges pass an order that addresses the minute details of the problem is a great way to utilise the assets at our disposal. In fact, once these experts help formulate a detailed court order, the health department should also employ their expertise so that can help with the implementation of the court orders as well. For this, the health department must share accurate statistics on the number of children who have contracted the virus, those who were vaccinated, those who missed their vaccinations, health facilities in each area and the availability of medical professionals. Sharing this data with the court will ensure that the subsequent court orders address the actual state of affairs, any misreporting at this stage will have consequences on the effectiveness of court orders.

There is also a need for the health department to make sure children are vaccinated on time. Rubella was contained in Pakistan and its re-emergence shows that the vaccination process may have started to lax. The application filed by a lawyer also mentioned that most of the families in Sajawal cannot afford the vaccines. Here is the need for the dispensaries and government-owned clinics to step in and provide these vaccines to the children. Rubella is preventable and the Sindh government should be proactive in getting rid of the virus before it claims more lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2014.

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