DADU: Three children among 18 admitted to the Dadu civil hospital after an outbreak of measles in several Dadu villages died on Wednesday.

The patients’ relatives complained that more than 300 children were suffering from the disease in several villages and the poor parents were waiting for doctors’ team to arrive and provide them succour.

The condition of six children out of 15 identified as Shabana, Allah Bachai, Samina, Afroze Hajani, Manzoor and Naiz was stated to be serious.

Ranjhan Chandio, father of a deceased child Moharram Chandio, complained that measles outbreak was reported from at least 50 villages of union councils of Moundar, Jhallo, Aminiani, Makhdoom Bilwal, Phulji Station, Phulji village, Khudabad and Phakka.

DHO Dr Javid Ahmed Dawachh said he did not know about children’s deaths and denied reports of measles outbreak in the district. Not a single case of the disease had been reported from any place, he claimed.

He said that doctors and health workers were busy in polio drive. Besides, there was huge stock of measles vaccines at government hospitals, he added.

Civil Surgeon Dr Insaf Magsi said that he did not know about the deaths of children and insisted that only seven patients of measles were admitted to the hospital.

Malaria grips Umerkot, Chhachhro

About 600 patients of malaria and 22 of dengue fever reported at government hospitals in Chhachhro and Umerkot talukas during past two weeks, Dawn learnt on Wednesday.

There was lack of adequate facilities to grapple with dengue at both the taluka hospitals while Chhachhro hospital also lacks a blood bank, which is necessary for the patients of dengue fever as they require regular intakes of platelets.

Qamaruddin Rahimoo, chairman of Chhachhro Town Committee, told Dawn that the taluka hospital had no well-equipped laboratory, no blood bank and no facility to check dengue patients pathologically. Its power generator had also gone out of order and its four ambulances were non-functional, he said.

Karim Bux Chohan, a resident of the village of Tenghtyo, told journalists that his village was the worst affected by dengue fever, where 30 persons contracted the fever during the past two weeks.

Published in Dawn September 29th, 2016