State to administer additional measles vaccines to children

All kids between 9 months to 5 years of age in vulnerable areas will be given an extra dose of the vaccine, irrespective of their immunisation status. All children between 6 months and 9 months of age in these areas will also receive vaccines to protect them from the infection.

Mumbai: The state, on Friday, decided to implement the advisory issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and administer additional vaccine coverage to children living in areas affected by the ongoing measles outbreak.

The ministry had communicated to all state-level health officials on Wednesday that the coverage of the first dose of the measles vaccine in the country is 89 per cent while that of the second dose is 82 per cent, as per the estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF. (HT PHOTO)

All kids between 9 months to 5 years of age in vulnerable areas will be given an extra dose of the vaccine, irrespective of their immunisation status. All children between 6 months and 9 months of age in these areas will also receive vaccines to protect them from the infection.

“The additional vaccines will only apply to the 52 identified outbreak areas in the state, 22 of which are in Mumbai,” said Sanjay Khandare, principal secretary of the state government’s public health department.

Increased surveillance of cases of fever with rashes and administering vitamin A to all children below five years in the affected areas are already underway, he added.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the state action committee on measles, consisting of doctors as well as government officials, held on Friday evening.

The ministry had communicated to all state-level health officials on Wednesday that the coverage of the first dose of the measles vaccine in the country is 89 per cent while that of the second dose is 82 per cent, as per the estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF.

President of the Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, Dr Ravindra Kute said that private practitioners, medical colleges and corporate hospitals in the state have been asked to help in increasing the surveillance of affected cases.

They also stated that the “Roadmap to Measles and Rubella Elimination by 2023” aims to increase vaccine coverage to at least 95 per cent among kids below five years of age.

The state has also built a task force to tackle the outbreak.

Maharashtra has a sufficient stock of vaccines to carry out the additional vaccination camps, said the state immunisation officer Dr Sachin Desai.

The R nought (R0) value for measles is 15, which means every patient can infect 15 other people, said Dr Upendra Kinjwadekar, the president of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

“A measles outbreak can only be brought under control with 95 per cent vaccination coverage due to its sporadic increase rate. Even if the vaccine coverage slips to 90 per cent, it can have severe consequences,” he said.

This is an exceptional situation as the outbreak has caused so many deaths in Mumbai, so the extra doses of vaccine is a welcome step, he added.

“However, there is no need to panic parents. Proper immunisation and nutrition are all they need to provide for their kids. This will reduce the severity of the infection tremendously even if they do get measles,” said Kinjawadekar.

Dr Umang Agrawal, an infectious diseases specialist from PD Hinduja Hospital said that up to 6 months, a child is saved from measles by maternal immunity, while children above 9 months are usually immunised as per the universal immunisation programme. This explains the need for the extra dose given to children between 6 months and 9 months of age.