Four children die from Measles in Balochistan

CHAMAN: A measles outbreak in Chaman, a north-western district of Balochistan, has resulted in the deaths of four children and infected a large number of others. Head of the Emergency Response Team, Ali Achakzai, confirmed that the fatalities occurred in Roghani 1 and Roghani 2.
He further informed that efforts are being made to to contain the outbreak and the Frontier Corps (FC) has set up free medical camps, ensuring immediate treatment for affected children in the region. Despite these efforts, vaccination hesitancy among parents poses a significant challenge. Achakzai highlighted that many parents remain unwilling to vaccinate their children, which has further intensified the crisis, leaving more children vulnerable to the highly contagious disease.
Understanding Measles
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease with serious complications, particularly among young children. Symptoms typically appear 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last about a week. Initial signs include a high fever, cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes. Unique to measles are Koplik’s spots—small white lesions inside the mouth—followed by a red rash that spreads from the face to the body.
Complications are common and include diarrhea (8% of cases), middle ear infections (7%), and pneumonia (6%), which can become life-threatening if untreated.
Prevention through vaccination
Mothers with immunity to measles pass some antibodies to their newborns, but this protection fades after the first nine months of life. Vaccination remains the most effective prevention method. In developed countries, the measles vaccine is administered at 12 months as part of the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine.
In regions like Pakistan, where measles remains endemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends two doses—one at six months and another at nine months. This applies to all children, regardless of their HIV status.