Chad - Measles outbreak 2022

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Health: 33 measles cases reported in N'Djamena and Bongor

Serge Djimhodoum
March 15, 2022

Since the beginning of 2022, 33 cases of measles have been reported in two cities in Chad.

An official report shows 33 cases of measles from January 1 to March 2022, warns a press release from the Ministry of Public Health and National Solidarity. These positive cases are reported in two cities, N'Djamena and Bongor, the statement said.

The 33 are from 415 suspected measles cases reported by health authorities in less than three months in 60 out of 139 districts in the country. They are due to the “weak immunity of the population against measles”, the statement said.

About eight districts are in a suspected epidemic situation, reports the Ministry of Public Health. These districts are: N'Djamena East, N'Djamena 9th , Moissala , Massenya, Adré, Oum Hadjer, Bouna and Goz Beida.

Announcement of an awareness campaign

A situation that prompted the Minister of Public Health and National Solidarity, Dr. Abdel-madjid Abderahim to hold an emergency meeting on March 14. For the head of the health department, “a case of measles constitutes an epidemic”.

In a press release published the same day, Dr. Abdel-madjid Abderahim asked the health delegation of N'Djamena to make drugs available to the districts for the management of cases. In the document, an awareness campaign for clinic owners was announced. This announcement is accompanied by the implementation of the measles response contingency plan.

As a reminder, from 2018 to 2021, Chad recorded 1,437 confirmed cases of measles according to the report of the Ministry of Public Health and National Solidarity. The document notes that 414 people died during this period.

https://tchadinfos.com/sante/sante-33-cas-de-rougeole-signales-a-ndjamena-et-bongor/

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WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES

Week 16: 11 – 17 April 2022
Data as reported by: 17:00; 17 April 2022
...

Measles Chad

1 138 cases
1 Death
0.1% CFR

EVENT DESCRIPTION

A measles outbreak has been occurring in Chad since May 2018.
The total number of suspected measles cases from 1 January to 4
April 2022 has reached 1 138 with one death (CFR 0.1%). The largest
number of cases in 2022 have been reported in week 12 (ending 27
March), registering 210 cases.

A total of 87 (62.6%) districts out of 139 in the country have reported
suspected cases of measles, but only 22 (15.8%) of these are having
an active measles outbreak as of week 13 (ending 4 April 2022).
Of the districts currently in the measles epidemic phase, N’Djamena
Centre (287), N’Djamena Sud (135), N’Djamena Est (94), N’Djamena
Nord (88), Bongor (57), and N’Djamena 9th Arrondissement (43)
have reported the highest number of cases. Among a subset of 339
cases whose demographic information was available, 282 (83.2%)
were less than 10 years old.

Of the 326 cases which provided laboratory samples for diagnostic
testing, 51 (15.6%) were confirmed positive for measles IgM
antibodies. Another 62 cases were tested for rubella and yielded
17 (27.4%) positive results for rubella IgM antibodies. Among 339
cases with detailed case information, 152 (44.8%) individuals were
said to have been vaccinated while 70 (20.7%) were unvaccinated,
and 117 (34.5%) had an unknown vaccination status. Furthermore,
among the 51 cases confirmed for measles IgM antibodies, 14
(27.5%) had been vaccinated while eight (15.7%) were unvaccinated
and 29 (56.9%) had unknown vaccination status.

The epidemiological trends in 2022 thus far seem relatively similar
to those of 2021, however, trends have shown great improvement
when compared to 2019 and 2020. The improvement can most likely
be attributed to the vaccination campaign conducted in 2021 with
two rounds, one launched in January 2021 and another in March
2021. The campaign covered more than 1.62 million children aged
9-59 months from more than 60 districts.

PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS

Activities for the measles second dose vaccine sub-committees
have been re-launched in order to include it in the routine
immunizations schedule in the country

A notification letter was drafted to advocate for advancement of
global resources based on the current epidemiological situation

A national measles response plan has been developed for the
measles epidemic

Response to the measles outbreak has been ongoing in the five
districts of N’Djamena from 5-11 April 2022

The planned launch of the introduction of the second measles
vaccine was postponed to a later date due to the current measles
epidemic that the country is facing

Mobilization of resources and stocks needed for the introduction
of second measles vaccinations for routine immunization is
being finalized

Evaluation of the previous measles vaccination campaign is
ongoing to learn lessons to improve future campaigns

SITUATION INTERPRETATION

The measles trend in Chad was relatively stable in 2021 most likely
due to vaccination efforts in the first quarter of the year, however,
since week 11 (ending 20 March) 2022, cases have risen, and more
districts have attained epidemic levels compared to previous years.
Currently, Chad is at risk of more measles outbreaks due to low
coverage of routine vaccination, absence of second doses in the
vaccination schedule, and poor measles surveillance system which
could cause more districts to surpass epidemic thresholds.

PROPOSED ACTIONS

Introduce the second dose of the measles vaccine into routine
vaccination to improve achieving herd immunity targets of 95%
coverage

Accelerate provision of cold chain equipment in rural health
centers to improve vaccine management for the delivery of
quality vaccines;

Improve the availability of laboratory reagents for the continuous
performance of required examinations

Monitor quality of routine immunization services to ensure high
vaccination coverage among the population.

View/Open

OEW16-1111720422022.pdf (2.407Mb)

https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/353351

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WEEKLY BULLETIN ON OUTBREAKS
AND OTHER EMERGENCIES

Week 43: 17 - 23 October 2022
Data as reported by: 17:00; 23 October 2022
...
All events currently being monitored by WHO AFRO
...

Chad Measles Ungraded

Date notified to WCO 24-May-18
Start of reporting period 1-Jan-22
End of reporting period 19-Oct-22

Total cases 2 781
Cases Confirmed 142
Deaths 9
CFR 0,30%

A total of 2 781 suspected measles cases and nine measles deaths reported from the start of the year 2022 in 127 of 139 districts; 142 of 988 tested were lab confirmed measles and 101 of 496 tested were lab confirmed rubella cases. Only 27% of confirmed cases were vaccinated and 51% of lab confirmed cases are less than five years of age, and 17% are from five to nine years old.
...

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/363780/OEW43-1723102022.pdf