Death of 2 year-old Uzma not caused by measles: PIMS

Islamabad

Uzma, a two year-old girl diagnosed with measles, went into cardio-pulmonary arrest due to aspiration pneumonia, which took her life here at the Children’s Hospital of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) late Tuesday night, hospital sources told this scribe on Wednesday.

Uzma’s death was initially reported in the media as having been caused by measles. It was later learnt that she had not died of the highly infectious disease. “The patient had aspiration pneumonia, which is inflammation of the lungs and airways to the lungs (bronchial tubes) from breathing in foreign material. Aspiration pneumonia occurs when foreign materials are breathed into the lungs or airways leading to the lungs,” a doctor told this scribe while scanning through the patient’s medical file.

Hospital sources attributed Uzma’s death to the negligence of her mother, who allegedly acted against the physician’s advice and fed the child with milk, leading to respiratory distress, which triggered a series of events leading to the child’s death. Uzma’s family originally hails from Chakwal; however, hospital sources said the family of the deceased was quoted as saying that they are residents of Khanna Pul, Islamabad.

Meanwhile, Azmat from Bhara Kahu, Islamabad, and Irfan from Gilgit-both of whom were confirmed cases of measles-have been discharged after appropriate treatment and cure. Three child victims of measles from Islamabad are currently under treatment in the hospital’s isolation ward. They are Abdul Samad (Bed 16), 2 year-old son of Abdul Malik, a resident of Dala Chirrah, Islamabad; Unaiza (Bed 19), 10-month old daughter of Muhammad Yasir, a resident of sector G-7, Islamabad; and Huzaifa (Bed 14), six-month old son of Khalid Mehmood, a resident of PAF Base, Chaklala. Another five suspected cases have been detected in Bhara Kahu during the course of field investigations.

Where the confirmation of measles cases in Islamabad and Rawalpindi has become a source of consternation for the residents of the two cities, the development has also exposed the extremely poor coordination that exists at the federal level, where conflicting statements continued to be given to the media by officials at the helm of affairs.

High-ranking officials of the Islamabad administration conceded that some cases have been reported, but they are not from Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The health administration in Rawalpindi rejected the confirmation of any measles case from Rawalpindi Division and district. EPI officials said investigations are currently underway and that a report from the Directorate of Health Services is still awaited.

Doctors on duty in the isolation ward of PIMS were inundated with telephonic inquiries from the media, making it impossible for them to perform their actual job of treating patients. Still, had it not been for hospital sources, it would have become impossible to obtain a true picture of the situation. It is, therefore, imperative that a focal person with the requisite knowledge and ability to collate information from various sources be immediately appointed to prevent inaccuracy of reporting in the media.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has termed ‘suboptimal routine immunisation coverage’ as being the leading cause of measles outbreaks in different parts of Pakistan. “Figures collected from various official sources and surveys provide evidence of the current outbreak of measles in different parts of Pakistan resulting from insufficient rates of routine immunisation coverage,” states an official WHO statement released on Wednesday.

According to the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement 2010-11 survey, Pakistan’s routine immunisation coverage does not meet the optimal rate of more than 80%. “Pakistan’s routine immunisation coverage is close to 65%, with only some important cities of Punjab recording a better performance,” WHO Country Representative Dr. Guido Sabatinelli has pointed out. He quoted the huge difference of routine immunisation coverage between provinces, districts and cities as being the root cause of the current measles outbreaks.

The statement further adds that WHO is recommending adequate steps, both on emergency and long-term basis to the provincial governments to ensure that routine immunization coverage is made accessible to each and every child. “At an average, one single EPI vaccination centre in a union council caters for a population of 20,000 to 30,000 which is simply not enough to cater for the total population of any union council,” remarked Dr. Guido.

Posted in: Islamabad