Centre to send three-member team to Mumbai to assess and manage measles outbreak

Mumbai With the outbreak of measles in Mumbai, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday decided to send a high-level, multi-disciplinary team to the city to assess and manage the outbreak

Mumbai With the outbreak of measles in Mumbai, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday decided to send a high-level, multi-disciplinary team to the city to assess and manage the outbreak.

Centre to send three-member team to Mumbai to assess and manage measles outbreak

The ministry’s three-member team to Mumbai is headed by Dr. Anubhav Srivastava, deputy director, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi. The other two members are from Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi and Regional Office for Health and Family Welfare, Pune.

The MoHFW on Wednesday said the team will undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak and assist the state health department in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing cases of measles.

Four wards in Mumbai are presently witnessing a measles outbreak, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as it continues its special screening drive in Govandi slum-in M-E ward along with conducting additional vaccination drive in these wards.

It said, in the last two months (September and October), Mumbai has seen 57 measles cases and a death of a one and half year-old child.

“We have seen confirmed measles cases in Antop Hill (F North ward), Lotus Colony in Shivaji Nagar (M-East Ward), Urban Health Centre and Shastri Nagar 2 (G North), Pathanwadi, Malad (P North) and Baiganwadi (M east).

“In September, there were 26 cases and in October we saw 31 cases,” said a BMC health official. Apart from these wards, L Ward (Kurla West), H East (Santacruz-East) also saw outbreaks in October, said BMC health official.

The health department sprang into action after the National Institute of Virology, Pune, confirmed six cases in Govandi slums in October, followed by three suspected measles deaths in 48 hours.

M-E ward’s health team started the special drive on November 8 and so far, found 23 suspected measles cases out of which 15 are children.

“We plan to survey 2500 houses out of which we have covered 1620 houses. We have screened 7411 people for fever and rashes in the last two days. Children with fever and rashes have been given extra doses of vitamin A,” said a BMC health official.

Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC said in 2022, till date, 90 cases of measles and rubella have been reported out of which 74 cases are of measles. “We are visiting door-to-door and vaccinating children who are not immunised,” she said.

BMC has also appealed to parents to complete the measles, rubella vaccination of their 9-month-old and 16-month-old children.

Dr Gomare added that out of the total number of measles cases found in the survey, around 10 per cent children were found to be partially vaccinated and 25 per cent were unvaccinated.

Dr Vijay Yewale, member of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), an umbrella body of paediatricians, said the outbreak was expected with children missing out on routine vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said with good immunisation coverage, the number of measles cases have been kept under control so far.

Dr Bakul Parekh, senior paediatrician and IAP member said, “Unvaccinated children are at the highest risk of measles. Unvaccinated pregnant women are also at risk. Any person, who was not vaccinated before or vaccinated but did not develop immunity, can also be infected and can be a spreader.”