Another epidemic: Residents say measles kill two minors, others infected

Haripur DHO denies cause of death as children were treated at home.

HARIPUR:

Two minors reportedly died of measles while at least seven more have similar symptoms in two villages in Haripur, residents said on Monday. The health department, however, has refuted that specific cause of death.

Talking on condition of anonymity, residents said two-year-old Abrar and three-year-old Kamal, sons of Guldad from Guloo Bandi village, had been sick with measles since the last few days. The family treated the children with home-made remedies but did not take them to a hospital, said a close relative of Guldad. On Sunday, both the children succumbed to the illness, shared relatives.

Yunas, another villager, said more than six children were suffering from the same illness in Guloo Bandi. According to Raja Saeed, a resident of Sarbroot Khanpur, nine-year-old Danish, son of Sajjid, also had measles in his village. He added there were a few other children in Sarbroot who are also suffering from the disease.

When approached, District Health Officer Dr Zakim Khan Wazir denied the children died of measles.

“There is no record of them in any health facility, even the basic health unit of Hattar which is the closest to Guloo Bandi village.”

He added the health department will contact the father of the deceased children and gather information on the cause of their death.

The measles campaign is already under way in the district and teams have been sent to Sarbroot and Guloo Bandi villages for vaccination.

“Around 375,000 children in the district between the ages of nine months to 10 years will be vaccinated against measles,” added
Dr Wazir.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2014.