Measles outbreak: City hospitals continue to receive new cases – The Express Tribune

Measles outbreak: City hospitals continue to receive new cases – The Express Tribune:

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(Regardless of why, the vaccine is not working.) On the other hand, health authorities claim that the situation was not alarming.

According to reports, the outpatient departments (OPDs) of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and Polyclinic receive 20 to 25 measles cases every day. Sources at the Children Hospital at Pims said that the OPD receives over 120 plus cases every month.

“There has been an outbreak of measles in the twin cities since December 2012, but the health authorities are still declining to accept it,” said Dr Tabish Hazir, head of the paediatrics department at the Children Hospital.

“It is a bitter fact that despite mass anti-measles vaccinations and all-out efforts to contain the disease, cases continue to surface,” he said.

Dr Tabish said that since January this year, over 550 children have been clinically diagnosed with measles at Pims. Out of these, 180 plus cases were reported from urban areas of Islamabad, 40 from Bhara Kahu, 25 from Alipur Farash, 15 from Bari Imam and 126 from Rawalpindi. The rest were from other parts of the country. So far only one death has been reported at Pims, he said.

While talking about the causes of the measles outbreak, he said that there was an urgent need to study the epidemiology of the disease, as more than 50 per cent of the children brought to the hospital were those who had already been vaccinated against measles.