Measles fatality toll up in Helmand: Official

LASHKARGAH (Pajhwok): As many as 1,000 children suffered from measles in southern Helmand province last year out of which 30 died, an official said on Saturday.

Dr. Ahmad Zia Hayat, head of the Contagious Disease Section at the Public Health Department during an exclusive interview, told Pajhwok Afghan News measles cases increased in Helmand over the past year.

He added: “In the last solar year --- 1402 --- as many as 1,000 children suffering from measles had been hospitalized in Central Bust Hospital and health centres in the districts.”

He said in the first 15 days of the new solar year --- 1403 --- as many as 250 children suffering from measles had been hospitalized.

He linked the surge of fatalities from measles with the lack of public awareness regarding this virus and said still people in most parts of Helmand refrained from vaccinating their children against measles and other viruses.

He said: “The biggest reason in this province is that children are not vaccinated and they are not sent to health centers when they are sick, for this reason, the death rate of children increases.”

Some residents in Helmand complained that they did not have access to health care centres and as a result their children had been lost against these types of diseases.

Ahmad Shah, a resident of the Marjah district, said: “The main reason for the increase in measles is that people do not vaccinate children and in some districts, people do not have access to health centers, both adults and children are affected by various diseases.”

Sardar Wali, the resident of Nahar Saraj district, said: “The long distance to the health centers has caused some people to not take their children to the hospital on time due to poverty, after which the disease becomes severe.”

Measles is a type of virus that could be thwarted only by vaccination, and if this disease is ignored it could cause death as well.

nh