All over Pakistan, there has been a rise in the numbers of traced measles cases over the last two months. Globally, almost 2,00,000 kids die every year from complications arising from measles. Doctors say that measles is an extremely contagious disease and if not treated in time, might result in serious life threatening medical complications. The disease is especially prevalent in malnourished children.
The symptoms of measles comprise rashes which appear 10-14 days after contact to the virus, and also cough, runny nose, and eye infections. In several regions of Pakistan including eastern Balochistan, where malnutrition rates are comparatively elevated, chances of complications are a bigger risk.
With the initiation on April 24 of World Immunisation Week, Pakistan has some discomforting statistics to share concerning the frequency of measles in the nation. Already up to this point in the year, about 25,400 cases of measles have been reported in the country, with Punjab leading having amid about 16,600 reported cases. Sindh has the highest number of deaths with 62 deaths reported so far, amongst 146 total deaths in all of Pakistan. There are fears that this is only the start of an ominous year as far as the measles outbreak is concerned.
While measles in kids is the primary concern, adults too can contract the disease in case they have not received proper vaccination. It is therefore of importance to possess complete information about past immunisation and their dates upon every visit to a doctor as a standard practice. In a developing nation such as Pakistan, this is a necessary measure to be taken. Controlling the outbreak of measles in both grown-up and teen populations is imperative to alleviate the spread of disease as the disease has already stretched outward from Sindh and into Punjab.
While presiding over a top level meeting on health in Karachi, Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso expressed concern over the rising incidences of measles in the country and said that the epidemic should be tackled on a war footing. He also called for formulating long as well as short term measures to check the spread of the epidemic.
About 210 children died of measles in Sindh district alone last year in Pakistan. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the majority of the affected children died of post-measles complications like post measles encephalitis, pneumonia, and diarrhoea. Also another startling fact is that about one fifth of the children, who died of last year measles, were malnourished.
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