ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Islamabad administration has downplayed the news about the outbreak of measles in the rural parts of the city.

“The local health officials have told us at a meeting recently that there was no threat of any possible outbreak of the contagious disease,” Deputy Commissioner Aamir Ali Ahmed, who chaired the meeting, told Dawn. The meeting was called to ascertain the status of the disease.

Even though there was no immediate threat of the disease, the capital administration plans to vaccinate children against it, he maintained.

The meeting also reviewed the arrangements for the vaccination in rural and even urban parts of the city, he said.

At the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) also the situation is under control.

Head of Infectious Diseases at Pims, Assistant professor Maqbool Hussain, told Dawn: “We have established a committee of five physicians and discussed in detail the issues relating to measles.” He said there was no need to panic. The cases of measles come to hospital in October, November and December, he added.

He said Pims had prepared a contingency plan because of the concerns raised by ‘media’. “We have established an isolation ward to treat patients with measles or any other infectious disease,” he said.

He informed Dawn that in routine 11 to 12 children with the symptom of the disease came to the hospital each month and “we never term it alarming since it’s normal for us.”

“Even baby Uzma, who died recently at the hospital was also not from measles. She had some respiration problem,” Assistant professor Hussain said.

The cases are reported in the areas where hygienic conditions are not proper, he said adding the measles is a treatable disease.