Measles toll in Pakistan`s Punjab rises to 146

Islamabad: Two more people died of measles Saturday in Pakistan`s Punjab province, raising the number of deaths in the region to 146, officials said.

Eight-year-old Talha died at the Children Hospital in Lahore while 24-year-old Zainab died at the Allied Hospital in Faisalabad, health department officials told the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). As many as 201 new cases of measles have been reported from Punjab, including 40 from Lahore hospitals. The number of measles cases now stands at over 16,600 in the last six months. Tanveer Ahmed, director general of health services in Punjab, said it has been found that a majority of deaths in Lahore were caused by severe pneumonia and delay in reaching hospitals. IANS