THATTA, Jan 2: Four children died of measles in taluka Ghorabari of Thatta district on Wednesday.

The victims were three-year-old Kulsoom, one-year-old Ajanti, Mujeeb and Mooran, who died in Anwar Rahkiro, Qado Rahkiro and Suleman Khushik villages.

More than 50 children were also reported to be suffering from measles but health department teams have yet to visit the affected villages. When contacted, the Thatta district health officer, Dr Agha Iftikhar, said that he had no information about these deaths, adding that his department was taking measures to control the spread of the disease.—PPI

Dawn correspondents in Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Umerkot add: Five new measles cases were reported from Hyderabad and Matiari districts on Tuesday night. The ailing children were admitted to the paediatrics ward of Liaquat University Hospital’s city branch.

According to the focal person of the hospital, Dr Rasheed Akhtar, two children each were brought from Qasimabad and Hatri areas in Hyderabad district while the fifth child was a resident of Matiari district.

Dr Akhtar said that the hospital would report these cases to Sindh Health Services Director General so that their teams could visit the affected areas to see the extent of measles prevalence and take necessary measures.

Presiding over a meeting at Darbar Hall in Mirpurkhas on Wednesday, the commissioner of Mirpurkhas division, Ghulam Hussain Memon, directed deputy commissioners, district health officers and officials of Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) to take emergency measures in their respected areas to prevent the spread of measles.

He directed deputy commissioners and additional deputy commissioners to set up control rooms in their areas for launching a special campaign to spread awareness and provide vaccination and awareness about measles. He advised them to seek the help of NGOs and volunteers for the campaign and directed them to submit a daily report to his office. To raise awareness about their campaign, Mr Memon advised the officials to distribute pamphlets, display banners and make announcements over the radio and from the area mosques to ensure maximum coverage of children in affected areas.

He directed officials to register cases against parents who refused polio and measles vaccination for their children.

He also directed district health officers to hold regular meetings with the deputy commissioners of their areas and apprise them of any issues during the vaccination programme.

Commissioner Memon said that he had been appointed as an inquiry officer for Mirpurkhas division by the chief minister. He expressed concern over the rapid spread of the disease all over the province and said that measles vaccination should be started in the affected areas on emergency basis.

The officials who attended the meeting included deputy commissioner Mirpurkhas Nadeemur Rehman Memon, additional deputy commissioner Tharparkar Qamar Raza, additional deputy commissioner Umerkot Tameezuddin Khero, additional deputy commissioner Sanghar Faheem Memon and PPHI Mirpurkhas director Riaz Abbasi.

A vaccination campaign was also started in 11 union councils of Umerkot district, said the focal person of expanded programme of immunisation in Umerkot, Dr Fareed Ahmed.

He said that from the second week of December, around 144 cases of measles have emerged from the district which has a population of 190,000 children below five years.

Talking to Dawn, the district coordinator of the National Programme for Family Planning, Dr Anwar Shah, said that only 50 per cent of the district was covered by lady health workers.

According to a social activist from Mir Wali Muhammad Talpur union council, Mr Khadim Hussain Dalwani, his union council was ignored during routine immunisation. He said that male vaccinators visited some areas but parents refused to vaccinate their children.

He said that uncovered areas in Mir Wali Muhammad Talpur union council included Dodo Chachar, Qado Chachar, Dodo Khaskheli, Abdul Haq Halepoto, Otaq Yusuf Bhatti, Darro, Tahirabad, Chaudhry Asghar, Saleh Kapri and Bakhsho Nohani villages.