Doctors’ organization DPPH has urged the government to declare the ongoing measles situation in the country an “epidemic” and take emergency measures.
When the spread of a disease becomes unusual in terms of time, space and affected population, when infections and deaths increase, and when the health system can no longer cope, it constitutes a public health emergency, said public health experts and physicians associated with DPPH at a press conference on Saturday.
DPPH believes that the current measles outbreak has reached that stage, and therefore calls on the government to formally declare a state of emergency.
Public health expert Mushtaq Hussain said, “The government is taking all necessary measures to deal with the pandemic. It has canceled leaves of doctors and ensured uninterrupted services, and is also recruiting additional doctors. Only a formal announcement is yet to be made.”
Abu Mohammad Zakir Hussain, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said measles spreads faster than COVID-19. Even after vaccination, immunity does not develop immediately; This takes two to three weeks. To deal with the current crisis, hospital services should be extended to the grassroots level.