Anti Measles Drive In Swat Kicked Off

Deputy Commissioner Swat Saqib Raza Aslam here on Monday inaugurated the 12-day anti measles campaign by administrating vaccine to a minor kid at a simple ceremony held in DC office Saidu Sharif.

SWAT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Oct, 2018 ) :Deputy Commissioner Swat Saqib Raza Aslam here on Monday inaugurated the 12-day anti measles campaign by administrating vaccine to a minor kid at a simple ceremony held in DC office Saidu Sharif.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Fawad, DHO Dr Ghulam Subhani, EPI Coordinator Dr Liaqat Ali, WHO and UNESCO officials were also present on this occasion.

The DC Swat said that the 12 days anti measles drive will continue till October 27 across the province as part of the national campaign as the epidemic has attained alarming shape after over ten thousands suspected cases of the disease were reported in the health facilities of the province.

He said the preparations to eliminate measles from the province are in the final stages. He said all arrangements for the 12-day anti-measles drive in Swat have also been finalized wherein access to children in remote mountainous villages would be given special focus so that this chronic disease could be uprooted for good and there will be no holiday on Sundays during the campaign. Pakhtunkhwa FM radio 98 and RIO Swat will also participate in campaign by presenting special awareness programs in media, he added.

He said Measles Risk Assessment carried out in 2017-18 revealed 98 percent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is at high risk. The peak periods when this disease likely to spread is March-May and September-November.

Throat infections, runny nose, temperature and eyes pain are some of the symptoms of the disease.

Around 4.8 million children up to the age of 09-59 months would be vaccinated in the drive all over the province through fixed centres, mobile and outreach teams. As many as 5300 teams have been constituted for the purpose which will vaccinate 4.8 million children up to the age of five. The deadline for elimination of measles from five regions identified by WHO is 2020.

The DC Swat said the increasing number of cases in the province have necessitated the launching of a full fledged campaign against measles to overcome the epidemic before it reaches alarming situation.

As many as 28243 suspected cases of measles have been reported all over the country of which 10564 were reported in the KPK till June 18. It merits a mention here that 85 percent suspected cases of measles involved children below the age of five.

In 2017, 22356 suspected cases were reported in the country. As many as 246 children died in various health facilities of the province in 2018 due to measles related complications.

Saqib Raza Aslam urged the elite and media to cooperate with the health teams and the EPI workers for the success of the upcoming campaign against measles in the Swat. He said it is a community driven program about this deadly disease.