• The World Health Organization (WHO) has claimed that there can be 12 to 18 infections in one case.
The recent outbreak of measles, which is quite common among children, is putting millions of lives at risk, with some Indian states seeing massive increases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also claimed that one case can lead to 12 to 18 infections. The health agency also declared that measles has become one of the biggest threats globally.
With cases rising, the central government has directed affected states to strengthen fever and surveillance surveillance, Hindustan Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
“The Union Health Ministry is asking states to increase surveillance so that cases are not missed, and are detected early so that treatment can reach in time. This will help save lives," an official familiar with the matter told HT, requesting anonymity.
Two states, Maharashtra and Kerala have seen an increase in measles cases. According to the health department's bulletin on December 3, Maharashtra has so far recorded 807 measles cases and 18 deaths linked to the disease, most of them from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Earlier on November 28, a one-year-old girl had died due to measles in Mumbai.
On 30 November, 160 measles cases were reported in Kerala's Malappuram district. Amid the alleged alarming rise in cases, the Indian Academy of Pediatricians has stepped in and appealed for vaccination. State President of Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Kerala, Dr Jose Oseph told ANI that so far there has been no death due to measles in the district. Apart from these two states, Measles cases have also increased in Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand.
Earlier, the central government had also deployed high-level teams in Ranchi (Jharkhand), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Malappuram (Kerala) to look into the rise in measles cases among children.
Measles is one of the most contagious human viruses and is almost completely preventable through vaccination. However, 95 percent vaccination coverage is needed to prevent community outbreaks.
The most common measles virus symptoms include high fever, fatigue, strong cough, red or red eyes, and runny nose. It can also cause a red rash on the body, which starts on the head and then spreads to other parts of the body. Other symptoms include sore throat, white patches in the mouth, muscle pain, etc.
According to the Ministry of Health, an increase in the number of cases of this disease is observed every year during the period from November to March. Therefore, there is a need to strengthen an active fever and rash surveillance mechanism for early case detection.
Cause of surge in measles infections
According to official sources, there has been a drastic drop in vaccination rates over the years, leaving many children completely unprotected from the virus. Citing the same, P Ashok Babu, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health, said, "It is also clear that in all such geographical areas, the affected children were largely unvaccinated and the measles and rubella-containing vaccine was prevalent among the eligible beneficiaries." (MRCV) coverage is also significantly below the national average."
In a recent release, the WHO stated that in 2021, there will be an estimated 9 million cases and 128,000 deaths from measles worldwide. Twenty-two countries experienced large and disruptive outbreaks. In the same year, a record high of nearly 40 million children missed a dose of the measles vaccine: 25 million children missed their first dose and an additional 14.7 million children missed their second dose.
“The paradox of the pandemic is that while vaccines against COVID-19 were developed in record time and deployed in the largest vaccination campaign in history, routine immunization programs were severely disrupted, and millions of children were exposed to the deadly disease. had missed life-saving vaccinations against. Like measles," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Getting vaccination programs back on track is absolutely critical. Behind every statistic in this report is a child at risk of a preventable disease."
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