Measles cases rise, Centre rushes teams to Jharkhand, Gujarat, Kerala

New Delhi, November 23

The Centre on Wednesday sent high-level teams to Ranchi (Jharkhand), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Malappuram (Kerala) to assess and manage the recent increase in the number of measles cases among children.

The three multi-disciplinary three-member teams will take stock of the surge and assist state authorities with containment measures.

The Central team for Ranchi has experts drawn from the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.

The teams will also undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak and assist the state with protocols to manage the increasing cases of measles being reported in the three cities. The teams will also coordinate with viral research diagnostic laboratories for the testing of the identified cases.

The World Health Organisation and UNICEF had in November 2020 appealed to member nations to avert major measles and polio epidemics as Covid-19 continued to disrupt immunisation services worldwide, leaving millions of vulnerable children at heightened risk of preventable childhood diseases. “Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on health services and in particular immunisation services, worldwide,” Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, had warned.

In India, a single shot measles rubella (MR) vaccine is administered to children aged 9 months to 15 years to prevent the annual estimated two lakh measles cases and 49,000 child deaths. India makes up 37 per cent of the global burden of measles, which globally kills an estimated 1.34 lakh children. — TNS

Containment steps

• The teams will undertake field visits to investigate the outbreak in Ranchi, Ahmedabad and Malappuram (Kerala)
• They will also coordinate with labs for the testing of the identified cases
• WHO and UNICEF had in November 2020 appealed to member nations to avert major measles epidemics