THATTA: Health Director-General Dr Abdul Hafeez Memon has claimed that the outbreak of measles in Thatta and Sujawal districts is not as much alarming as reported in the media.

Addressing a press conference in the office of the DHO Thatta at Makli on Thursday, he said that since January, 288 cases of measles had been reported from Sujawal and Thatta districts. Eight children died in Sujawal and four in Thatta, he said.

He said the prevalent disease which had caused other causalities in Sujawal and Thatta districts was not of measles, but a kind of measles identified as Rubella.

He said the department had diagnosed 47 affected children and found 29 infected with measles and six with Rubella.

He said extreme poverty, unhealthy atmosphere and malnutrition as well as use of stagnant and impure water were the major reasons for the recent outbreak of Rubella and measles in the two districts.

He said the department had already suspended two vaccinators for negligence and was taking immediate steps to overcome the situation.

Additional Secretary Muhammad Aslam Pechuho, DHO Dr Zahoor Memon, Suleman Shah and others were present at the press conference.