Peshawar, Amid a rising tide of measles cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Health Minister Syed Qasim Ali Shah has called for urgent measures to contain the outbreak. The provincial health department is mobilizing resources to tackle the epidemic, emphasizing the importance of the MR vaccine for children and establishing isolation wards in medical teaching institutions (MTIs).

According to Directorate General Information and PRs – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Minister Shah’s response includes the formation of a provincial outbreak committee to oversee efforts against the measles surge. Director EPI Dr. Arif, in an emergency briefing, highlighted the vaccination of over 100,000 newborns as part of the containment strategy. The province has recorded 3,889 suspected and 1,445 confirmed cases of measles, with children between the ages of two to five years most vulnerable to the disease.

Efforts to control the outbreak are being focused in 118 union councils across 24 districts, where DI Khan leads with 185 cases, followed by Peshawar with 147, Charsadda with 113, Swabi with 92, and Dir Lower with 83. This targeted response aims to stem the spread of measles and mitigate its impact on the province’s young population.