KP Measles Crisis: Five Child Deaths, Rising Infections

A measles outbreak in Pakistan's Lower Dir district has claimed the lives of five children, and many more have been infected, raising fresh concerns over public health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Peshawar, October 25.

Local media report that the disease is spreading fast in far-flung hilly areas. Cases have been reported in the remote villages of Ghora Banda and Khora Banda, in the Timergara area.

All five children who died were between two and seven years of age. Several other children in these isolated communities are showing symptoms of the extremely contagious illness, including high fever, rashes covering the body, and severe trouble breathing. Patients have been admitted to hospitals across the district, where health workers are providing care.

Lower Dir Deputy Commissioner Basharat Ahmed and the District Health Officer toured the affected areas after the outbreak was reported. The Deputy Commissioner met bereaved families, conveyed sympathy for the deaths of the young children, and assured them that the administration would stand by them with all possible assistance.

Earlier reports noted that 71 children had died of measles across Pakistan in the first four months of the year, 40 of them in Sindh. The Pakistan Medical Association had voiced worry about the heavy toll of vaccine-preventable diseases and the high number of children who have received no vaccine at all.

The association said Pakistan still trails many countries. It cited India, which has achieved coverage of over 90 percent through extensive outreach.

World Health Organization data shows more than 17,000 measles cases were recorded in Pakistan in 2025, a rate of 66.65 per million people. That exceeds the threshold for classifying a measles outbreak as large and severe.

First-quarter 2026 figures show 4,541 confirmed measles cases nationwide, including 1,712 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.