Namibia: Measles cases

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Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200908270894.html

Angola: Measles Outbreak Spreads From Country

Nangula Shejavali
27 August 2009

Three cases of measles have been confirmed in the Engela District in the North, while the Ministry of Health and Social Services is investigating 21 more suspected cases.

At a meeting of the National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC) on Tuesday, Primus Shilunga, Acting Deputy Director in the Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Directorate, confirmed that an outbreak of measles in Angola was starting to make its way into Namibia.

Measles is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus. Symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, coughing, runny nose, red eyes, and a generalised fine rash that spreads from the face and neck down the body. It is spread by coughing and sneezing, and close contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth.

Of the 21 suspected cases that have been reported at villages in the Engela District, 12 of the patients are Angolan citizens, and nine are Namibians.

A suspected case of measles in a 24-year-old man has also been reported in Okuryangava in Windhoek. Shilunga said that in Angola's Kunene province, at Oshikango, 12 cases of measles have been confirmed, and 67 suspected cases presented.

He said although measles usually infects children under the age of five, the mean age of those suspected and infected is 13.4, with 61 per cent of the cases being over the age of five.

Only two of the suspected cases are under the age of one.

The Ministry's routine vaccination drive, of which one campaign was recently concluded, covers children under the age of one.

Shilunga said the older age infection trend is a cause of concern, as there is a higher risk of complications for older people who have not been vaccinated.

Possible complications include diarrhoea, pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and conjunctivitis (commonly called 'pink eye') or even blindness.

According to various sources, the measles fatality rate for relatively healthy people in developed countries is three deaths per thousand cases, while in nations with high rates of malnutrition and poor healthcare, fatality rates have been as high as 28 per cent.

In immunosuppressed patients, such as people living with AIDS, the fatality rate is about 30 per cent.

Shilunga said the Ministry, along with the World Health Organisation (WHO), is working on an action plan to tackle the outbreak.

He also said that the Ministry has advised hospitals in northern Namibia to remain vigilant and report to the Ministry daily, while the Engela District has been placed on high alert.

 

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Re: Angola measles spreading to Namibia

Re: Angola measles spreading to Namibia

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=6440

Ohangwena Battles Measles Outbreak - by Petronella Sibeene
28 August 2009

WINDHOEK ? Recent confirmation of measles cases in the Ohangwena Region is likely to add to the woes of the health ministry, which is already battling to contain swelling numbers of H1N1 cases.

National Health Emergency Preparedness Committee Chairperson, Dr Jack Vries, yesterday told New Era there are 29 suspected cases of measles in the Engela district.

Two cases were confirmed positive, while 15 patients are admitted at that district?s hospital. An adult male is also suspected of the disease in the Khomas Region and is admitted at the Katutura State Hospital.

Epidemiologists are investigating the cases and analysing data before health experts take further action, Vries said.

Should the situation develop into an outbreak, Namibia might have to re-vaccinate certain population groups in targeted areas, added Vries.

The country?s health authorities especially those in the north of the country are on full alert after a measles outbreak in Angola is said to have spread to Namibia.

Unlike other diseases that require human contact for transmission, the measles virus can spread very easily through micro-droplets contained in the air people breathe out or cough.

Every year, the country?s health ministry goes on a mass vaccination campaign that sees children under the age of five immunised against measles, a disease that can easily lead to pneumonia, which can be fatal when severe.

Health authorities say there is no reason for alarm as they are monitoring the situation closely.

The symptoms of measles are high temperature, skin eruptions, pimples, conjunctivitis, ear ache, cough and flu.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed H1N1 cases in the country continues to swell with the latest figures standing at 34. This means 11 new cases have been recorded since Monday.

Since the first case was confirmed in the country, Namibia has thus far sent 214 swabs to South Africa for testing. Initially, the virus was imported but now local transmission has been discovered.

This means the virus is now circulating internally and one does not have to travel abroad to be at risk.

The situation, according to health officials, calls for re-doubled efforts on prevention. It has not been established whether or not travel restrictions imposed by other countries have served any purpose in protecting the public or containing the outbreak.

It remains unknown how the situation will evolve in Namibia.

Unlike neighbouring South Africa where confirmed cases are over 5 000 with 18 deaths so far, Namibia has not recorded any deaths. Those who have tested positive to the virus are reported to have recovered or are recovering.

 

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Re: Angola measles spreading to Namibia

Re: Angola measles spreading to Namibia

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200909020424.html

Namibia: Twelve Confirmed Measles Cases Reported in the Engela District

Nangula Shejavali

2 September 2009

THE number of confirmed measles cases in the Engela District in northern Namibia has quadrupled to 12, up from the three reported early last week.

This was confirmed at a meeting of the National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC) yesterday, where it was said that the number of suspected measles cases has also doubled from 21 last week to 42 this week.

The majority of those suspected or confirmed to have the measles are Angolan nationals. The NHEMC last week said that a mass outbreak of the disease across the border in Angola had started to make its way into Namibia.

Measles is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus. Symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, coughing, runny nose, red eyes, and a generalised fine rash that spreads down the body. It is spread by coughing and sneezing, and contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth.

The infection usually affects children under the age of five. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says measles is a leading cause of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available to prevent the disease.

Of the 12 cases confirmed, four are adults aged 24, 31, 33 and 38; and three are children - two aged 10 and one aged 17. The remaining five are children younger than five, of which two are under the age of one.

The Ministry's vaccination campaigns usually target children between the ages of nine months and one year, with supplementary vaccinations for those under the age of five.

There is a high risk of complications for older people who have not been vaccinated or did not contract measles in childhood. Possible complications include pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and conjunctivitis (commonly called 'pink eye') or even blindness.

In an analysis of the measles immunisation data from the Engela District, Dr Lawson Ahadzie of the World Health Organisation has proposed that health facilities with immunisation coverage of lower than 90 per cent should be targeted for a selective mass immunisation campaign.

"The suggested target population will be children nine months to five years old," he writes.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=7700


Measles breaks out in 7 regions - by Petronella Sibeene
23 October 2009

WINDHOEK ? There is a measles outbreak in seven regions of the country, with figures standing at about 800 cases by yesterday.

Ministry of Health and Social Services spokesperson, Gladys Kamboo, yesterday confirmed to New Era that since July 2009, Ohangwena, Kunene, Khomas, Oshikoto, Oshana, Kavango and Hardap have reported cases of measles.

Kamboo said it is difficult at the moment to give the exact number of cases, as the country is still waiting for some results to be confirmed.

So far, 100 specimens have been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa, while 250 are at the National Institute of Pathology in Windhoek. The rest are on the database, Kamboo added.

The epidemiology division together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended that selective vaccination takes place in the affected regions, Kamboo said.

Affected regions have been urged to embark on social mobilisation for early detection and notification, strengthen case management in line with the set guidelines and isolate confirmed cases.

The attack rate at present indicates the risk is much higher in children below the age of one year and those almost nine months old when the vaccine is supposed to be given.

Limited human and financial resources were identified as some of the problems some regions face in curbing the outbreak.

?Like in Opuwo, there is no vaccine fridge in the Epupa area. Other places face incomplete reporting forms and others have limited human and financial resources,? said Kamboo.

Measles is a disease caused by a germ (the measles virus). The signs include red, blotchy rash over the whole body, fever and a runny nose or red eyes or cough.

A child with measles must be treated immediately. If not treated, the child can suffer from serious complications such as pneumonia, eye infections and sores in the mouth. Complications of measles can kill children.

Giving measles vaccine can prevent the measles disease.

In routine services, all children should be vaccinated at nine months or soon thereafter. However, children need an extra dose as a second chance to be vaccinated to catch those who missed the first routine dose and to protect those few children who were not protected by the first dose.

During the campaign, all children aged nine to 59 months should be immunised against measles, even if they were already vaccinated or had measles disease.

There are no reasons for a child not to receive measles vaccination, even if the child is sick.

Measles infection causes:

? Serious skin infection ? rash
? Chest infection (may lead to death)
? Ear infection, which can lead to deafness (loss of hearing)
? Serious throat infection
? Death
? Brain infection (encephalitis), which also causes poor function of the brain, including epilepsy later in life
? Diarrhoea

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=7895


Kunene quarantines measles patients - by Petronella Sibeene

29 October 2009
WINDHOEK ? Health officials in the Kunene Region have put up six tents at Opuwo District Hospital to accommodate and isolate people suffering from measles as the numbers of measles cases continue to swell.

Measles is contagious and Opuwo District Hospital currently does not have the capacity to take in every patient because the hospital already faces a disease burden of tuberculosis among other illnesses, Kunene Regional Health Director, Linda Nambundunga, told New Era yesterday.

She said since September 16, 2009, there are 205 confirmed cases of measles with 89 cases of admission since the outbreak started. By yesterday, there were 16 measles patients in hospital.

?The number of cases is likely to increase,? the health director said.

The disease, according to Nambundunga, is spreading at a fast rate, with one of the contributing factors being the lifestyle of people in the region. Many people tend to share sleeping rooms, as such patients are hardly isolated from other members of the family.

Transfers of patients from the hospital to the tents, the health director said, was supposed to have taken place on Monday but due to lack of electricity at the site, the process has not been carried out yet.

The disease has been reported in Etanga, Otjimuhaka, Oravandjei, in Khorixas and Outjo.

Meanwhile, selective mass immunisations kicked off yesterday targeting children under the age of five who have never received the measles inoculation before.

Due to transport problems, the selective mass vaccination scheduled to end Saturday has been extended to next week, Nambundunga said.

The region has also received a human resource boost, with 16 nurses dispatched from the Oshana Region. They are involved in the immunisation process that is underway.

Despite measles being known as a childhood disease, based on the cases handled, all age groups are vulnerable though under fives are at a higher risk. So far, the oldest patient is 42 years old.

Measles is a disease caused by a germ (the measles virus). The signs include red, blotchy rash over the whole body, fever and a runny nose or red eyes or cough.

A person, especially a child, with measles must be treated immediately. If not treated, the child can suffer from serious complications such as pneumonia, eye infections and sores in the mouth.

Complications of measles can kill children.

In routine services, all children should be vaccinated at nine months or soon thereafter. However, children need an extra dose as a second chance to be vaccinated ? to catch those who missed the first routine dose and to protect those few children who were not protected by the first dose.

During the campaign, all children ages 9-59 months should be immunised against measles, even if they were already vaccinated or had measles disease.

There are no reasons for a child not to receive measles vaccination, even if the child is sick.

Measles infection cause serious skin infection (rash), chest infection (may lead to death), ear infection, which can lead to deafness (loss of hearing), serious throat infection, brain infection (encephalitis), which also causes poor function of the brain, including epilepsy later in life.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=8038


Transport shortage adds to measles worries - by Petronella Sibeene

WINDHOEK ? Amidst worries that the number of measles cases is increasing in the Kunene Region, the lack of transport remains a challenge for the health personnel to carry out the recommended selective mass immunisation against the disease.

Health Regional Director Linda Nambundunga yesterday told New Era that last week the region embarked on selective mass immunisation against measles, an exercise that was scheduled to end Saturday.

Selective mass immunisations kicked off last week Wednesday, targeting children under the age of five who have never received the measles inoculate before.

Due to transport problems, the region could not deploy the 15 nurses dispatched by the Oshana Region to assist in the immunising process in different parts of the Opuwo district.

The process has now been extended until the end of this week and the Ministry of Health and Social Services has availed two vehicles to strengthen the ?fleet?.

The number of cases stood at 259 by yesterday but Nambundunga said the figure could be higher as some centres, namely Okanguati and Epupa, areas that have always reported a lot of cases, had not given their report for the day to the regional office.

So far 113 admissions have been made with 33 patients still in hospital and 80 discharged.
In the past weeks the disease has mainly affected adults but since last Friday, the pattern has changed with children getting affected.

?In the past the most affected were adults but now out of the 33 cases we have, 20 are children ? the picture is changing and we will continue with the monitoring process,? said Nambundunga.

Khorixas and Outjo, also in the Kunene Region, have started reporting cases although very few. Other areas that reported cases are Etanga, Otjimuhaka and Oravandjei.

Health officials in the region erected six tents to accommodate and isolate people suffering from measles at the Opuwo district hospital, given the increasing number of cases.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.namibian.com.na/news/ful...rticle/kunene-measles-cases-top-one-thousand/

15.01.10
Kunene measles cases top one thousand

By: JANA-MARI SMITH
FIVE months after the first case of measles was reported in the Kunene Region, the number of affected patients has risen to 1 081, the regional health directorate told Nampa on Wednesday.

Peter de Villiers, Mayor of Opuwo, told The Namibian that 33 patients are presently in treatment for measles at the measles treatment centre, which was set up at the Opuwo State Hospital in response to the health crisis towards the end of 2009.
The number of patients has significantly dropped from previous months, when the centre treated as many as 50 to 70 patients at one time, De Villiers said.
?New cases are still coming, but at slower rates,? De Villiers added, confirming that the rate of infection appears to be slowing down.
A house-to-house information campaign aimed at creating awareness and providing information of the disease among Opuwo residents and in the surrounding areas was postponed on Thursday because the health authorities don?t have enough cars.
Health authorities have also begun to address hostels in the area, in an effort to inform schoolchildren about measles.
Epidemiologist Puumue Katjiuanjo told Nampa that only five per cent of the vaccination coverage reached the Epupa Clinic in 2009, increasing vulnerability to infection amongst children.
He added that people in the region were not protected against measles and were unprepared to deal with the disease when it first raised its head last year.
The Opuwo State Hospital offers the only treatment centre in the Kunene region, and patients are referred to the hospital from the region?s clinics and remote villages and settlements, De Villiers said, explaining that the 33 patients currently receiving care are not limited to locals from Opuwo.
At least 625 patients with measles have been admitted to the Opuwo State Hospital treatment centre since the outbreak of measles in September last year, Nampa reported. The number of fatalities has increased to 13, the health authorities confirmed to Nampa this week.
An Angolan national is suspected to have been the first sufferer, treated at Epupa clinic last year.
Several attempts made by The Namibian to obtain additional information from the Ministry of Health in Windhoek and Opuwo proved unsuccessful, as key staff were on leave or attending meetings elsewhere.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=9233


Stakeholders on plans to fight measles outbreak - by Wezi Tjaronda
22 January 201

OPUWO ? The Ministry of Health and Social Services and its partners are working on a detailed plan that will outline how best the measles outbreak in the Kunene Region can be controlled.

Measles broke out in Kunene in September last year and has so far infected 1 060 people mainly under fives, and killed 15 others in Opuwo district. The disease also broke out in eight districts of other regions, namely Ohangwena, Khomas and Erongo where it has since been contained.

According to Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr Richard Nchabi Kamwi, who this week led a delegation to the Kunene Region to assess the situation, the plan will outline a strategy and the resources needed to strengthen routine immunisation and increase vaccination coverage over the long-term.

He said cross-border collaboration with Angola, which is the source of the first measles case, will be reinforced and training conducted on outbreak investigation and response.

World Health Organisation Representative to Namibia, Dr Magda Robalo, said the plan would be ready as soon as data has been analysed to see how many people are infected and from where, how many people were vaccinated, when they were due for vaccination, and how many people are not yet vaccinated.

She said plans were that the detailed plan should be ready by end of next week. This will also give guidance as to whether there will be need for mass vaccination of children under the age of five years, or to continue with the selective vaccination campaign that has been ongoing in affected areas.

The disease spread to Okanguati, Opuwo, Otjokoyo, Omuhongo, Ovinyange and Okatumba and other districts including Outjo and Khorixas. Outjo and Khorixas reported 25 and 26 cases respectively, with no deaths.

Kamwi, who was accompanied by staff from his ministry and technical experts from the World Health Organisation led by Robalo and United Nations Children?s Fund led by deputy representative Madhavi Ashok, visited the Opuwo Hospital?s Isolation Treatment, where 17 patients are admitted and are being treated, Epupa, Okanguati and Otjimukaha health clinics.

The most affected is under- five age group, totalling 537 cases due to the low immunisation coverage in the region. While the targeted coverage according to the WHO is 90 percent, the coverage in the region is 60 percent and in some places as low as 40 percent.

A number of challenges including low Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), shortage of transport, lack of outreach personnel have also hampered efforts to control the outbreak like in the other regions.

Director of Kunene Region Health Directorate, Linda Nambundunga, said the Opuwo district has two enrolled nurses that are supposed to cover 51 outreach points on a monthly basis, a task that was impossible to accomplish in a month.

?It is impossible to cover all the points in a month,? she said.

In addition, EPI fridges in some clinics are not functional because of lack or erratic power supply.

Due to the remoteness of most areas in the region, the health staff find it hard to access communities when health interventions need to be provided.

The outbreak coincided with the Presidential and National Assembly elections, which Nambundunga said meant that the directorate share some of its resources such as vehicles.

The region?s Subsistence and Travel allowance budget was also exhausted because of the cholera outbreak last year, the National Immunisation Days and the measles outbreak.

The other problem that is seen as hampering efforts in controlling the epidemic is the movement of people between Namibia and Angola and the refusal by some to have their children vaccinated and immunised.

With such enormous challenges facing the region, WHO Epidemiologist, Dr Lawson Ahadzie, said, ?It is not unusual to have a prolonged outbreak.?

Nurses at the various clinics said the number of measles cases seen have now dwindled. While the Okanguati clinic has seen five cases since Monday this week, the last case to be detected at Otjimuhaka clinic was on January 12.

Kamwi said the outbreak is under control.

?We are on top of the situation,? he said.

The first case of measles was a 38-year-old Namibian man with residence in both Namibia and Angola who developed a rash, after that people around Epupa became sick because of what the villagers thought was infected meat.

He infected five other family members, after which the disease started spreading to other areas.

Measles is highly contagious disease whose symptoms include high fever, flu-like symptoms, chest infection, skin rashes all over the body and fatigue.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=9286



Kunene measles cases shoot up - by Wezi Tjaronda
26 January 2010

WINDHOEK ? The number of measles cases in the Kunene Region is increasing. By yesterday, cases in Opuwo district had increased by 49 since last Monday.

Director for Health in the Kunene Region, Linda Nambundunga, said yesterday the number of cumulative cases since the outbreak started in September last year has reached 1 109. On Monday last week, the number of cumulative cases was 1 080.

She told New Era yesterday the region is experiencing a problem.

According to Nambundunga, the Opuwo district, which is the most affected, had reported 15 deaths. As of yesterday, 31 people had been admitted at the Measles Treatment Centre located at the Opuwo Hospital. The number of admissions has also gone up with 14 cases and so has the number of total admissions.

The first case of measles was reported on September 19 last year. The disease also broke out in the Ohangwena, Khomas, Oshikoto, Oshana, Kavango and Erongo regions.

Since the outbreak, the directorate is giving information at established health facilities to create awareness on measles.

The ministry has been battling to contain the measles epidemic in the Kunene Region because a greater part of the population is not effectively immunised.

In order to interrupt the transmissions 59 percent of the population must be effectively immunised, according to the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

Unfortunately, this is the case with the Kunene Region and other remote areas of Namibia.

A Measles Outbreak Response Taskforce has been in place since last year, and selective measles vaccination campaigns in selected areas have been conducted as of October 29, targeting children between six and 59 months.

Measles, a disease caused by a virus, is one of the leading causes of death among young children even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available.

Unvaccinated young children are at the highest risk of measles and its complications, which include death.

As a means of combating measles in the world, the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children?s Fund, the American Red Cross, the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the United Nations Foundation have come up with the Measles Initiative, which plays an important role in ensuring that countries advance a global measles strategy which includes immunising children by their first birthday, mass vaccination campaigns to ensure that all children receive at least one dose and effective surveillance in all countries for them to quickly recognise and respond to measles outbreaks.

Symptoms of measles include high fever, flu-like symptoms, chest infection, skin rash all over the body and fatigue.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

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Measles cases decrease - by Helvy Tueumuna
28 January 2010

OSHAKATI ? Cases of measles in the Omusati Region are reportedly decreasing.

According to the Acting Health Regional Director of Omusati Region, Vilho Weyulu, since the beginning of measles outbreak in the Kunene Region between September and October last year, Omusati also treated 180 cases of measles.

Records at Omusati Regional Health Directorate indicate that the disease has so far claimed seven lives.

These deaths were recorded at Outapi State Hospital, health centres and clinics within the region. Weyulu said most of the patients treated are Angolan citizens and some people from the borders of the Omusati and Kunene regions.

?At least 35 cases that we have treated are from Angola. We are at risk because our region borders with Angola and the Kunene Region. But measles here is not as severe as in the Kunene Region? said Weyulu.

Currently, there are only five measles patients hospitalised at Outapi State Hospital.

This is in comparison to four to five patients treated on a daily basis since the first case was reported.

The infection rate of measles in the Omusati Region is much lower, compared to the Kunene Region where cases of measles are reported to be increasing.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, at least 1 080 people have been treated for measles at hospitals and other health centres in the Kunene Region of which 15 deaths have been reported in Opuwo District alone.

Apart from Omusati and Kunene other regions such as Ohangwena, Oshana, Hardap, Kavango, Khomas and Oshikoto also battled with the disease.

Government has so far implemented campaigns and vaccination against measles at selected areas, targeting the children between six and 59 months.

Measles is identified by symptoms such as generalised skin rash, high fever, flu-like symptoms, fatigue and chest infection.

 

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Re: Namibia: Measles cases

Source: http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=9393

Mass measles vaccination drive launched in Opuwo - by Wezi Tjaronda
03 Febuary 2010

WINDHOEK ? The Ministry of Health and Social Services will next week embark on a mass vaccination campaign against measles in the Opuwo Health District of the Kunene Region.

The targets for the campaign are all the residents of the Opuwo Health District except pregnant mothers and children under the age of six months. The population of the health district is about 45 000.

The week-long campaign, which starts next Tuesday, ending on February 15, comes in the wake of a prolonged measles outbreak in the Kunene Region. Since the first case was reported on September 19 last year, the number of cases had risen to 1 253 by Monday this week. The disease has killed 15 people while 12 others are admitted at the Isolation Treatment Centre at the Opuwo District Hospital.

Minister, Dr Richard Nchabi Kamwi, launched the campaign yesterday in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Defence, Victor Simunja, Regional Governor Dudu Murorua, regional councillors, representatives of different recognised traditional authorities and political parties.

Although the other districts such as Sesfontein, Outjo and Khorixas have also reported some cases, the affected are children under the age of five years while the cases in Opuwo are from all age groups.

?This mass vaccination is required because we have come to realise that people in Opuwo have little or no protection against measles,? said Kamwi.

This situation arises from the fact that many parents have not been taking their children for vaccination and have not developed immunity against the disease, Kamwi said, adding that the vaccination will protect the population from getting the disease and its complications, which can kill.

The schedule for the campaign will be communicated through a technical team that is working to finalise the details at the ministry?s headquarters in Windhoek.

The Ministry of Defence has come on board with personnel and ambulances to assist in fighting the outbreak. The ministry has already dispatched four ambulances and 10 of its medical personnel who will join the health staff in the campaign. Other personnel and vehicles will also be dispatched next week.

Deputy Minister Simunja said Cabinet had directed the defence ministry to deploy some of its staff for the duration of the exercise.

Simunja said that apart from defending the territorial integrity of Namibia, the defence force was also tasked to help in emergency situations such as disease outbreaks.

Kamwi called on other institutions to support the campaign by availing human and material resources.

?The vehicles, venues, tents, mass mobilisation efforts to make the people understand the importance of the vaccination campaign, supporting vaccinators to get access to the population and others will be required by each and every one of us,? he told the gathering that witnessed the launch.

He also urged the regional health directors to work together with surveillance officers and report any suspected case of measles.

?I want us to put down this epidemic forthwith. There is no reason why measles should be a problem. We have the resources, he said.

Measles is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, which presents a variety of symptoms including fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and rash. Measles is spread through respiration and is highly contagious.

It is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality. Unvaccinated populations are at risk of contracting the disease, which has killed 200 million people globally in the past 150 years.