KARACHI, Feb 6: The measles virus has once again struck the city.

In the last week of December 2002, and in January this year, some 3000 children were registered in the major teaching hospitals, 40 of them required immediate admission as they were also suffering from pneumonia, encephalitis and diarrhoea.

According to Dr Afaq, deputy director National Institute of Child Health (NICH), since only five percent of children seek medical help from the public sector hospitals, the figure of 3000 cases reveals only the tip of the Ice-berg of the actual number of cases, which may range between 6000 to 10,000,

Referring to the measles epidemic which struck in the city from April to September 2001, he said an estimated 50,000 children suffered from measles in Karachi alone, and more than that number suffered from the disease in the interior of Sindh. More than 500 deaths were caused by the disease.

“Usually it takes three to four years for another outbreak of the disease to occur in the same area. However, in poorly immunized and urban areas, outbreaks are documented with the change of season,” he said.

Dr Afaq said the outbreak raised many questions regarding the efficacy of measles vaccines, the percentage of the population vaccinated, the efficacy of the single dose approach, the nutritional status of children and serum concentration of vitamin A.

He said that in the private sector more than three vaccines were licensed in Pakistan, and it was difficult to assess the potency of those vaccines and the immunity provided by them.

It was ironic, he said, that only 50 % of the population was immunized, and it was documented that outbreaks might occur any time where immunization fell below 50 %.

Dr Afaq said the federal government’s target was to reduce measles mortality by 95% and measles morbidity by 90% by 2005, whereas the current official report showed that the cases reported during 1996 were 1090, and in 1999 they went sharply up to 2940. The problem assumed epidemic proportions in 2001 and thousands of cases were reported from Sindh alone, including more than 500 deaths.

“The menace of measles has reemerged in the past two months, which is an alarming situation and warrants immediate attention of the government.

—PPI