Paediatricians warn of possible measles outbreak 

Almost two dozen deaths have been reported across

the province this year, half of them in Karachi

Karachi

As many as two dozen children have died in the province with around half of them in Karachi, from measles and related complications, so far this year, health officials and paediatricians claimed on Tuesday.

“Cases of measles are increasing in Karachi for the past two to three months and there have also been several deaths,” acting Director Health Karachi Abdul Shakoor Abbasi told The News.

In fact, according to the Pakistan Paediatric Association, measles cases are on the rise in Karachi and between 30 and 40 cases are reported in various public and private hospitals with related complications that include pneumonia.

Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease and children are given two doses of immunisation — the first shot is given ninth months after birth and second after 15 months. But the disease outbreak reflects that there are weak connections in routine vaccination coverage.

However, the reported number of cases does not even reflect the true magnitude of measles outbreak since the office of Director Health Karachi does not even have the actual number of deaths caused by measles. Dr Abbasi attributed to laxity by hospital administrations in sharing data but stressed the seriousness of a potential outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease in the city.

“Actually, all our resources are being spent on polio eradication while routine vaccination is largely being ignored,” remarked Dr Abbasi while talking to The News on Tuesday, adding that vaccination for measles was part of the routine immunisation offered by centres of the Expanded Program of Immunisation (EPI) Sindh.

A few days ago, he said, the matter was discussed with the chairperson of Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Polio in Sindh, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho by Karachi Commissioner Asif Hyder Shah.

“An emergency vaccination drive for measles might be launched by the end of May 2016 by the EPI itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, senior paediatrician and the director of National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Dr Jamal Raza, claimed that so many measles cases were being reported in public and private hospitals that paediatricians had felt it necessary to report it to the EPI Sindh and request them to enhance routine vaccination coverage among children.

“A few days ago I led a delegation of paediatricians to the office of EPI Sindh to draw their attention toward towards the growing measles cases in Karachi,” he said. “We requested EPI officials to improve their routine immunization coverage so the number of deaths from this vaccine-preventable disease could be avoided.”

Dr Raza said most of the measles cases were being reported in Baldia Town, Lyari, Malir and Sohrab Goth, where literacy rate was low and socio-economic conditions left much to be desired. He opined that many parents had said that they thought that their children only needed the polio vaccine, upon inquiries by NICH doctors.

“There is an urgent need for increasing routine vaccination in the city. A massive awareness campaign needs to be launched through print and electronic media to persuade parents to take their children to EPI centres for vaccination,” he remarked.

The convener of Pakistan Paediatric Association, Dr Khalid Shafi, said measles cases had been on the rise for quite some time since routine vaccination was being badly ignored in Karachi and rest of the province.

“Though the situation in Karachi is way better than the rest of the province, lives of children dying of pneumonia and other complications can be saved,” he said.

According to Dr Shafi, the poor coverage of routine immunisation was the chief reason for the spread of measles outbreak in the province and urged the media to play its due role in highlighting the importance of routine vaccination.

When approached for comment, deputy director of EPI Sindh Dr Zahoor Baloch, said officials were aware of the potential outbreak and steps were being taken to enhance routine immunization among young children in different areas of the city.

He said there have been reports of eight deaths in Shikarpur and Hyderabad districts this year, besides a few in Karachi. However, he said, he too was not aware of the total number of deaths caused by measles in the province.

“Measles cases are on the rise in Karachi and other districts of Sindh and we are responding to the situation and taking measures to curb the epidemic,” said Dr Baloch. “An emergency vaccination drive has been planned in the selected high-risk union councils of the province from May 25. We are also planning to increase the coverage of routine immunization in the province by increasing awareness among people.”