LARKANA, Dec 12: A World Health Organisation (WHO) team on Wednesday visited the Gharibabad locality of Naudero town and some other areas to verify claims about an outbreak of measles in certain areas of Larkana division.

WHO district surveillance officer in Larkana Dr Liaquat Ali Noonari along with vaccinator Shabbir Ahmed and some dispensers made inquiries in Gharibabad from where death of several children from measles within a fortnight was reported.

Dr Noonari was advised by his high-ups to visit areas in Larkana, Kashmore and Shikarpur to verify claims of an outbreak.

Sources privy to the WHO team said that three deaths from measles were confirmed and the victims were identified as Shamshad and Akash, both aged three years and Rashid aged two years.

Other sources put the number of deaths at five, including eight-year-old Dilshad and four-year-old Azizan, whose deaths were reported from Burirro village. Yet another source close to the WHO team observed that the deaths occurred due to post-measles pneumonia.

It was also observed that people of rural areas attached myths to the disease and would not approach medical experts for proper treatment once a child was inflicted with measles. “This also contributes to aggravation of the situation,” said a WHO team member.

The team traced more than a dozen suspected measles cases during the visit and obtained blood samples of two children, four-year-old Sher Khan, two-year-old Gulistan for dispatching them to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, for verification, it was learnt.

One of the team members, who termed it ‘outbreak’, said that 13 children under examination for measles were labelled as ‘suspect’, falling under WHO’s ‘surveillance protocol’. The children included Shahida (aged 9 months), Sher Khan (aged four years) Sadaf (aged three years), Ali Jan (four years) and Shahzeb (15 months).

The team gave a first dose of anti-measles vaccine along with a dose of Vitamin-A to 163 unvaccinated children.

It would submit its findings to the District Health Officer, Larkana, Dr Abdul Fatah Bughio, for further action.

Dr Bughio when asked to comment on fresh developments, did not deny measles-related mortalities in Gharibabad but said that blood samples of two suspected measles cases were obtained for confirmation or otherwise by the NIH.

Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khuhro, the medical superintendent of Naudero rural health centre, told local journalists that the three children who died from measles had been vaccinated against the disease.

Meanwhile, a source in the WHO office in Larkana said that the organisation had recorded death of 10 children from measles this year.