DADU, Nov 15: Deaths in a row have put medical authorities on toes to clip measles which is fast spreading among flood-hit children of the district, after nine of a family expired in 10 days in a village near here.

A meeting in this regard was held on Monday among the WHO team, health department officials and the DCO.

Health department officials were directed by the DCO Mohammad Iqbal Memon to immediately set up vaccines centres in taluka and Civil hospitals and complete vaccination target in flood-hit areas and tent cities within two days. The meeting was attended by the WHO team leader Dr Suleman Safdar, EDO Health Dr Ubaid Rehman Memon, civil surgeon Dr Javed Ahmed Dawachh.

DCO was optimistic of meeting the vaccination target in two days along with the functioning of measles centres from Monday.

Besides, a drive to create awareness among the parents would be launched with the assistance and monitoring of the WHO, said the EDO adding that people would be informed of vaccination through the public address system.

Dr Memon advised the parents to get their children vaccinated first when they are nine months old and then again at the age of 11 months which would protect them from measles, forever. However, measles were treatable, he said.

Relatives of nine children who died in 10 days because of measles were filled with remorse for not saving the lives of their babies.

They were the inhabitants of a village at Jagir Shakh near Dadu and were identified as three-year-old Ihsan, three-year-old Dilsher, four-year-old Ayaz, two and half years old Anila, one year old Surayya Rani, 12-day-old Afroze, one year old Mirzadi, one year old Rahmatullah and two-year-old Abida.

Azam Solangi, father of Rahmatullah, told media that he and other villagers were not aware of the spread of measles and were aghast over the systematic deaths taking place in their village.

Ashiq Solangi, father of Suraya Rani, said that though doctors at the civil hospital Dadu treated her but she could not survive while still a large number of children were infected with the measles.