SHIKARPUR, Jan 24: At least 14 more children have died of measles over the past four days in different urban and rural areas of Shikarpur district, taking the measles toll within the past seven days to 26.

As many as a dozen children fell prey to measles on Friday and Saturday last and since then another 14 died in this district, sources said.

The district administration did not confirm or deny the reports, saying that it was also receiving such reports but the toll appeared to be unofficial and it would take time to verify the figures.

There have been reports that no effective measures to check the outbreak have be taken as yet in most areas of the district as neither the health officials concerned could have covered the worst-hit towns and villages in their vaccination campaign nor was the anti-measles vaccine available at all public and private healthcare facilities, leaving several hundreds families in a fix over how to protect their children below the age of five years from the disease.

Within the past seven weeks, according to a cautious estimate by health sources and the media, 80 children have lost their lives to measles in the district and most of the deaths have occurred during the current month.

Some of the victims who reportedly died of measles over the weekend were identified as one-year-old Ibrahim Lashari, 18-month-old Aisha, two-year-old Ismail Jogi, Sukhan and Yasmeen, three-year-old Farooque Jamiro, Shazia, Salima and Shabana Jatoi and five-year-old Gul Naz Malik, Gulbahar Kumhar and Rasheed Shar. Parents of the victims are residents of Muhalla Allahdad, Bhitai Colony, Abbasi Colony, Sardarpur, Sallar Jakhro village, Naparkot, Garhi Yaseen, Khanpur and Zarkhail village.

More deaths from measles this week were reported from Drib Tanwari, Redhoo village, Alif Khan Khoso village, Juneja village, Bhooro Kosh village, Booja Napar village, Sardarpur and Madeji.

Shikarpur District Health Officer Dr Khursheed Ahmed Qazi said he could officially confirm only nine deaths in the outbreak over the past seven weeks. Only eight children affected by measles were at present under treatment at the Civil Hospital Shikarpur, he added. He, however, did not deny all reported deaths as claimed by independent sources and the media. “In most cases, parents do not take their measles-affected children to any healthcare facility for treatment, nor do they report death of a child from measles,” he argued, suggesting that it was difficult to verify the death toll as claimed by unofficial sources.

Dr Qazi said that the district health officials had been running a vigorous campaign to create awareness of the disease and educating people about its treatment. At the same time, he said, a vaccination drive was under way and more than 400,000 children had already been vaccinated against measles in the district.