Over 200 cases of measles have been recorded in Mumbai with 13 deaths. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has blamed the lack of vaccination behind the ongoing outbreak. In fact, data accessed by The Indian Express showed that in October, when the outbreak started, Mumbai recorded only 41 percent vaccine coverage against measles. “Yet measles is a preventable disease through vaccination and everybody should get their shots on priority,” says Dr. Asmita Mahajan, Consultant Neonatologist and Paediatrician, SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim.
Why has Mumbai seen a surge in measles-related cases?
Mumbai has certainly seen a surge in measles cases over the past few days, with most of the patients from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Poverty, poor hygiene practices, poor quality of nutrition, and lack of vaccination in children have all contributed to the spiraling cases. Most cases have been reported from Bhiwandi (Thane) and Malegaon (Nashik) which lack vaccination coverage, especially among children. Some families didn’t immunize their children because of religious and cultural backgrounds. Many lives could have been saved had the children been vaccinated on time and in more significant numbers.
Undoubtedly, there has been a dip in the national immunization program because of the pandemic and the lockdown. That has created a big gap. People were quite skeptical or scared about going to hospitals, clinics, or healthcare centres to get their children vaccinated as they were afraid of them picking up Covid-19. Irrespective of this hesitancy, the BMC surpassed the vaccination drives and scheduled drives for polio. Its officials have also been keeping a record of vaccinations undertaken at private hospitals. The official BMC figure is that 20,000 children are estimated to have received the MR vaccine.
Some measures that can be implemented immediately include the following:
- Looking out for infected children and treating them as early as possible
- Make sure that all the children who missed the vaccines due to the lockdown and pandemic get vaccinated
- Seek medical attention from specialized doctors and pediatricians if children show any symptoms related to the disease.
In studies in diverse settings, broad and early implementation of vaccination has been associated with shorter outbreak durations, smaller outbreak sizes, alterations in the epidemic curve, reduction in cases, lower-than-expected morbidity and mortality, and partial or complete avoidance of outbreaks in closed populations.
Wider use of this control measure may also impact disease transmission at the community level by directly reducing the number of secondary measles cases and by increasing immunity to levels that can impede the spread.
source: https://indianexpress.com/