KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed on Thursday formed several committees to look into various health issues, particularly, the ‘brain-eating amoeba’ — naegleria fowleri — after the death of a man in Karachi, polio, which infected six children so far, the ongoing measles campaign and the dengue virus.

The minister asked officials of the health department and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to make sure that water was properly chlorinated before it was supplied to millions of houses in the city — a step that could keep naegleria from afflicting more people.

A team comprising officials from different departments was formed to survey swimming pools and water parks in and around the city to ensure that they were properly chlorinating the water.

The minister was informed that more than 10 million children had already been vaccinated against measles in the ongoing campaign and the officials claimed that the remaining over three million children would be inoculated in the remaining two days of the vaccination.

The meeting also discussed the possible increase in dengue cases in the city with advent of sizzling summer and forthcoming monsoon and tabled a number of proposals to tackle this problem.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2014