144 children lost to diphtheria, measles since January in Karachi

• Deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases reported at four tertiary care city hospitals • Expert says most parents fail to ensure children receive recommended doses on time • EPI official claims cases declined this year KARACHI: At least 144 children have lost to measles and diphtheria — both vaccine-preventable infections — at four key tertiary care hospitals in the first seven months of this year, it emerged on Monday. Sources said that a total of 1,915 cases of measles with 125 mortalities have been reported at the four hospitals —Indus Hospital (IH), Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Centre (SIDH&RC), National Institute of Child Health (NICH) and Sindh Institute of Child…