KARACHI: Sindh Health Department has constituted a seven-member committee to probe the matter of severe illness/deaths of children in Shaheed Benazirabad District, reported due to reaction of measles or otherwise.
The committee comprises the following officers/stakeholder/technical experts; Provincial Immunization Officer, World Health Organization (WHO), Karachi Dr Waqar Soomro( Chairman),Professor of Paediatrics, Peoples Medical University of Health Sciences Shaheed Benazirabad, Dr Ali Akbar Siyal (member), Divisional Surveillance Officer, WHO, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dr Abdul Wahid Bhurt (member),Provincial Disease Surveillance Response Unit, FELTP Dr Naveed Ahmed Memon (member), Deputy Project Director, EPI, Sindh Dr Sohail Bin Saeed (member), Acting District Health Officer, Benazirabad Dr Mujtaba Memon (member) and EVM Coordinator/ Cold Chain Specialist Fahad Fahmi (member).
The committee is required to probe into the matter of serious illness/deaths of children in Shaheed Benazirabad and find cause of illness/deaths. The committee will submit its report within 24 hours to the Health Department.
Health Services Sindh Director General Dr Mohammad Akhlaq Khan, while talking to PPI, said immunization campaign were underway throughout the Sindh province in connection of Mother & Child Week 2018 when unfortunate incident occurred in Shaheed Benazirabad District where condition of nine children were got deteriorated as they administrated measles vaccine by vaccinators.
He informed that three children died from vaccine reaction or other reason while three are referred to Agha Khan Hospital for further treatment and two other were admitted in Shaheed Benazirabad Hospital. He said a child was discharged from hospital after recovery.
He further informed that a committee has been formed to probe the incident. He said committee member will submit their report to health department within 24 hours.