LAHORE, Jan 7: Health Director-General Nisar Ahmad Cheema has said that as many as 700 cases of measles surfaced in Punjab while only one baby died of the disease during the last five to six months.

Addressing a meeting of the executive district officers (health) on Monday, he said the measles situation in the province was quite under control as compared to Sindh where, he claimed, over 200 children died and around 7,000 cases surfaced so far.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique, EPI Director Dr Tanvir Husain, medical superintendents of various state-run hospitals and representatives from WHO and Unicef also attended the meeting.

Mr Cheema said all the districts had sufficient stock of vaccine while the same was also lying at the main store of the health department which was enough for more than over 0.5 million children.

He said a mop-up campaign had also been launched in various districts and union councils of the province to administer vaccine to the children aged between six months and 10 years.

In the meeting, the EDOs were directed to target those children coming from Sindh to Punjab.

Khwaja Salman Rafique directed appointment of focal persons at the teaching hospitals for the reporting of measles cases and insisted on strengthening routine immunisation. — Staff Reporter