HYDERABAD: Five children — three of them sharing the same family — of Chando Meo village in Tando Allahyar taluka died after developing measles related complications over the past 24 hours.

Some of the children had been under treatment ever since they developed different complications, according to Dr Sabir Kaimkhani, medical superintendent of Tando Allahyar district hospital on Saturday.

Three of the children were identified as five-year-old Iqra daughter of Ashraf, her four-year-old brother, Ashiq, and their relative, three-year-old Asif son of Yameen.

Dr Kaimkhani said that five deaths were reported in the village on April 26 and then five more children were brought to the hospital the same day. They included Adil son of Asif, 5; Adnan son of Asghar, 3; Atif son of Asif, 6; and Ashiq son of Ashraf, 5, and they were referred to Liaquat University Hospital (LUH), Hyderabad.

One of them Adnan died in LUH followed by Ashfaq who died on his way back to Tando Allahyar as he left LUH under “leave against medical advice”, said Dr Kaimkhani.

He said that Atif was brought back to Tando Allahyar by his family who insisted that he should be admitted there. His condition was critical but the family did not agree to his admitting to the LUH, he said.

Atif was now being shifted to LUH again after Tando Allahyar deputy commissioner spoke to LUH’s MS about him during his visit to the hospital on Saturday evening, he said.

He said that another child of Mushtaq, 7, son of Ashraf was brought to the hospital from the village but his condition was stable.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2024