39 children die of measles in 45 days

At least two more children died of measles here on Wednesday. A 7-year-old girl, Khairan, and a 2-year-old boy, Jaffar, died of the disease in Shikarpur and Khanpur. The death toll now has risen to 39 in the city and its surroundings during the last 45 days. Measles is caused by the measles virus, a single-stranded, negative-sense enveloped RNA virus of the genus Morbillivirus within the family Paramyxoviridae. Humans are the natural hosts of the virus; no animal reservoirs are known to exist. This highly contagious virus is spread by coughing and sneezing via close personal contact or direct contact with secretions.