RAHIMYAR KHAN: A door-to-door survey is underway and a field vaccination camp has been set up in Sardargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, after a rapidly spreading infection claimed the lives of eight children over the past two weeks, district officials confirmed the other day.
Deputy Commissioner Zaheer Anwar Jappa said the Health Department team is investigating the total number of deaths and infections in the area while vaccinating children against measles and other diseases.
According to the CO Health, various skin diseases have been found in the deceased and affected children. Officials said the affected children studied in a local madrasa, where they contracted the diseases from one another.
The outbreak surfaced about two weeks ago in the remote settlement of Basti Murad Pur Sangi, basti hakeem abdullah and surrounding villages, some 40 kilometers from the city center. Victims ranged in age from five months to seven years and died after developing high-grade fever and severe dermatological lesions. The deceased were identified as Ishrat Fatima, Maimoona, two-year-old Hasina, Sakina, three-year-old Nadeem Zahid, six-year-old Amna Bibi, five-month-old Faheem, and six-year-old Fiza Afzal. Nearly 60 other children are currently battling the contagion, with several reported to be in critical condition.
Deputy Commissioner Jappa said that instead of taking the children to a government hospital, residents continued to seek treatment from local faith healers and amil. “A case is being registered against the amil who treated the children on the government’s complaint,” he stated.
The DC clarified that the disease was a skin infection, not chickenpox as initially suspected by local practitioners. He added that the remote nature of the settlements delayed timely medical intervention, with parents first turning to quacks and traditional healers as the illness—mistaken for measles or chickenpox—spread.
Following a social media outcry, the district administration directed the health department to mobilize emergency response teams. The Health Department has now set up a field camp in the affected area, where children are being vaccinated against measles and other diseases.
Health officials are conducting a house-to-house survey to determine the full scale of the outbreak. The DC’s office said the probe will establish how many children have died so far and the total number of infections in Sardargarh.
NOTE: This MM News reporting is based on district administration statements and local health department updates.
