KARACHI: At a news briefing on Wednesday, specialists painted a dire picture of Sindh’s child health situation, stating that vaccine-preventable diseases were becoming more prevalent throughout the province and that 21 districts had recorded 122 measles outbreaks in 2023.
A virus is the source of the highly contagious disease measles. When an infected individual breathes, coughs, or sneezes, it can spread quickly. As per the World Health Organization, it can result in serious illness, complications, and fatality.
In cooperation with other partners, the Provincial Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) hosted the press conference at the Karachi Press Club.
Data presented during the event indicates that over the previous four years, there has been a sharp rise in the incidence of measles; 1,873 probable instances were reported in 2020, 6,293 suspected cases were recorded in 2021, 4,990 suspected cases were documented in 2022, and 8,051 instances were recorded in the previous year.
Experts express concern about the growth in vaccine-preventable illnesses; the sharp rise in measles cases over the past four years disturbs medical professionals.
Between 2020 and 2023, there were 675 confirmed instances overall; by 2023, there were over 4,000 cases.
Aged under five, the majority of the afflicted youngsters had not had any vaccinations.
Additionally, there were incidences of hepatitis, pneumonia, TB, rubella, typhoid, and diphtheria. Since measles is a highly contagious illness, we have seen a higher number of cases,” Dr. Muhammad Naeem Rajput, Project Director of EPI, stated. He also noted that nine deaths this year were related to diphtheria, while over 90 mortality from measles were reported by the department last year.
He blamed acute malnourishment and “a large flow of inhabitants from northern regions of Pakistan that weakened parts of Sindh” for the rise in vaccine-preventable infections, such as polio.
In response to a query, he stated, “We are working on combining nutrition initiatives with the immunization program as well as gearing up our community education campaigns to address the challenges.” He also mentioned that the agency has started the process in order to address the scarcity of vaccines.
He noted that a total of 351,852 kids below the age of five received doses of the measles-rubella vaccination through case response operations in 2023–2024.
Speaking on behalf of the Pakistan Paediatric Association, Dr. Khalid Shafi stated that, considering the province’s scant testing resources, the actual measles case count was significantly greater than the statistics officially provided.
He highlighted that rather than initiating a separate project, the province’s ongoing child health issue should be successfully handled by improving the normal immunization plan.
Additionally, we think that the immunization coverage should be extended from two to five years. This is significant since many kids in our community do not have their vaccinations by the government-mandated age, he noted.
The Pakistan Medical Association’s Dr. Ismail Memon asked the government to enhance stakeholder participation and monitoring efforts.
Speaking also were Dr. Iqbal Memon, president of the Asia Pacific Paediatric Association, Dr. Khalilullah Memon, who represented EPI Sindh, and Dr. Sohail Raza Shaikh, additional project director of EPI.
SOURCE: DAWN NEWS
