Anti-measles campaign in Torghar on July 5

MANSEHRA: The World Health Organisation, UNICEF and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Expanded Programme on Immunisation are all set to launch a 12-day anti-measles vaccination campaign in Torghar district on July 5.

“We are going to launch an anti-measles drive by July 5 with the support of the WHO and UNICEF as a local girl died and 10 other were tested positive for the disease,” Dr Mohammad Taimur Shah, the district health officer, told reporters in Judbah, on Thursday.

He said that a girl died of the measles in the Gitto village of Harnail union councils last month and 10 other children, out of a total 32 suspected cases, were tested positive for measles.

“We have to administer the injectable vaccine to as many as 28266 children of six months to five years of age in all 16 union councils of the district,” Shah said.

The district health officer said that the children of Gitto village where the girl died of the measles were vaccinated following the outbreak of the disease.

“We have to secure the entire population before it spreads to other villages as over 90 percent of the locals have settled in highly difficult mountainous and inaccessible areas,” Dr Shah said.

He said that a total of 34 teams were constituted to administer the measles vaccines to the targetted children in the district.