CHAMAN        -          Five children suffering from measles have died on Saturday in Kali Taki, an area of Chaman, Balochistan.

According to Medical Superintendent of District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) the children who lost their lives were ill due to disease of highly contagious infectious disease of measles.

He said it is has been learnt that a number of children in the area are suffering from the measles. “A doctor, 15 vaccination staff, ambulances and medicines have been sent to the affected area,” the MS continued.

Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days.

Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than 40 °C (104 °F), cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. Small white spots known as Koplik’s spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms.

A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms.

Common complications include diarrhea (in 8% of cases), middle ear infection (7%), and pneumonia (6%).

Mothers who are immune to measles pass antibodies to their children while they are still in the womb, especially if the mother acquired immunity through infection rather than vaccination.

Such antibodies will usually give newborn infants some immunity against measles, but these antibodies are gradually lost over the course of the first nine months of life.

In developed countries, it is recommended that children be immunized against measles at 12 months, generally as part of a three-part MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella). The vaccine is generally not given before this age because such infants respond inadequately to the vaccine due to an immature immune system.

In developing countries where measles is common, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends two doses of vaccine be given, at six and nine months of age. The vaccine should be given whether the child is HIV-infected or not.