Three kids died of measles in village Allah Warayo Solangi, recently. With the news highlighting the issue, the health authorities woke up from their deep slumbers and vaccinated as many as 564 children in the three affected villages. The kids who died include two-year Rukhsana, daughter of Oshaque Kurio, six-year Zoya, daughter of Deedar Khokhar, and four-year Sartaj, son of Muhammad Khan Khokhar.
A villager, Mohammad Khan, told reporters on Wednesday that he took his son to the hospital due to asthmatic problem and doctors told him that his minor son was suffering from measles, adding, they advised him to shift the kid to Larkana but he expired on the way before getting any treatment.
Many other children of Kot Bhutto, Bharchoond, Wandh Ali Muhammad Kertio and other villages were also suffering from this deadly disease, reports disclosed.
Medical superintendent, Dr Irshad Ali Morio, Government Hospital, Naundero, sent a team of two doctors consisting of Dr Ashique Jokhio and Dr Ayaz Ali Shaikh along with vaccinators to the affected villages where as many as 564 kids were vaccinated during the last two days.
Blood samples of nine more kids were also collected and sent to Islamabad for analysis, on suspicion of the same viral disease. These children include Farzana, Farhana, Sudheer, Sarang, Qasim, Lal Bux, Kashif and Mudassir.
Dr Morio told media persons that this viral disease is spreading from one child to another through the air. He alleged that parents do not bring their affected kids to the hospital on time and they rely on old traditional methods due to which kids die. He said that the initial symptoms of measles are: coughing, fever, flu and then radish spots appearing all over the body.
Dr Hassan Chandio told media men that when a child is born, prevention vaccination should be given at the age of 9-months. He said that if the required injections are not taken then the children will be infected with various diseases as well. He said that it is a viral disease and its symptoms include high-grade fever with multiple radish spots over entire body and it also severely affects the entire respiratory system, Dr Chandio added.
He said that cleanliness should be made regular ritual and doctor should be consulted immediately when these symptoms occur. People have demanded that vaccination teams should be sent to all other villages as well so that further deaths could be avoided.