SUJAWAL - Two more children died of measles near Sujawal in Sindh on Thursday.
The deceased were identified as five-year-old Samar and eight-month-old Mahnoor in Dor area of Sujawal.
The Sindh High Court has taken suo moto notice of the measles deaths in Thatta and Sujawal , seeking reports from the health authorities. Whereas, the provincial health department has also recently launched a measles immunization campaign in which, according to officials, 11.9million children were vaccinated in Sindh.
On May 25, 60 schoolchildren were hospitalized after being administered measles vaccine by officials in Swat district. Reportedly, the government health workers visited a school and dosed at least 60 schoolchildren with measles vaccine.
In July 2012, some expired measles vaccine claimed three lives in Swat district, while in January next year, two months before its term, the then minister admitted before the Senate that ‘poor handling’ caused measles outbreak, which killed 232 children in 11 districts of Sindh.
He praised Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for ‘better management’ of the epidemic - which now stands exposed in May 24, 2013 when the measles monster claimed the lives of more than a hundred kids. Parents have been making a litany of complaints to the authorities but they are dragging their feet over the matter.