5-month-old from Govandi dies of measles

On Friday, representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the city said that a serosurvey can be taken up by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

Mumbai: A five-month-old boy from Govandi, who died on Tuesday, became the ninth fatality of measles in the city. On Friday, lab reports confirmed that the death was caused by measles. The reports of five more children who are suspected to have died from the viral infection are still awaited.

According to the BMC, the child did not receive vaccination as he was too young. He started developing the symptoms of measles on Sunday and was admitted to a civic hospital the next day when he experienced severe difficulty in breathing, as per an official report. (Shutterstock)

On Friday, representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the city said that a serosurvey can be taken up by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). However, the executive health official of the civic body, Dr Mangala Gomare, said there were no plans of undertaking such a survey yet.

According to the BMC, the child did not receive vaccination as he was too young. He started developing the symptoms of measles on Sunday and was admitted to a civic hospital the next day when he experienced severe difficulty in breathing, as per an official report.

“Even with all the medical assistance provided, his condition kept deteriorating throughout Monday. Our doctors tried to resuscitate him when his breathing got extremely heavy but he could not be saved,” said a BMC official. The child passed away in the same evening, with respiratory failure due to bronchopneumonia with measles being attributed as the cause of death.