Health department confirms 2 deaths due to measles

KARACHI (APP): Sindh Health Department clarifying media reports about demise of children due to measles on Thursday said that 2 out of 11 reported deaths were caused by measles while the remaining 9 children lost their lives due to other diseases.

The secretary health Rehan Iqbal Baloch, in a statement issued here, said that Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho has taken notice of the media reports about deaths of children due to suspected measles related complications and directed to address the situation.

Some media outlets reported demise of 11 children allegedly due to measles, out of which 8 belonged to District Mirpurkhas and 3 belonged to District Sanghar.

The Sindh government ordered investigations in both districts and each death was reviewed in detail and causes of death were ascertained, the statement said and added that 9 out of the 11 reported deaths were “not at all related to measles but instead to other causes” while 2 of them were indeed caused by measles.

The demised children, Nizamuddin s/o Riaz Ahmed and Munza d/o Khalid, both aged 8 months, passed away due to diarrhea, pneumonia and measles complication while rest of the 9 children died from conditions such as phenomena, sepsis, and others.

Both of the minor children succumbed to the deadly disease belonged to district Mirpurkhas and they were not eligible for measles vaccination (MR1) as they had not reached the required age but they had age match vaccination status up to Penta III.

Another similarity in both the cases was travel history to village Ashraf colony, Khipro, district Sanghar along with their parents.

Secretary Health informed that Sindh Government has established emergency control rooms at the provincial and district level and asked health workers to step up surveillance activities, conduct mop up and case response activities, and intensify public awareness campaigns to prevent further spread and to raise awareness on the benefits of vaccination.

He requested parents to prioritize the health and well-being of their children by ensuring timely vaccinations and seeking medical assistance at the first signs of illness.

The secretary also urged media to clarify situation and play active role in raising awareness on the benefits of measles vaccination.