Vaccination drive planned as measles cases soar

WITH the number of confirmed measles cases almost tripling from last week’s 13, the Ohangwena Region is planning to carry out a measles vaccination campaign next week.

The vaccination campaign, which will target children between the ages of six months and five years, will start on Wednesday (September 16) and continue until Friday (September 18).The region has confirmed 35 cases from villages scattered around the Engela District. The figure includes 19 Namibians and 15 Angolans. Nationally, 38 cases have been laboratory confirmed.When the outbreak in Engela District first started at the end of July, most cases were of Angolan residents. The National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC) explained that the outbreak was a spillover from a mass outbreak in the Cunene Province in Angola.The increasing numbers of confirmed Namibian cases in the Engela District indicates that the measles virus is spreading among the Namibian population.The latest reports from Angola indicate that at least 300 cases of measles had been diagnosed between mid-May and September 8 in its Cunene Province, just north of the Ohangwena Region,The numbers are however expected to be much higher, as the 300 cases were all reported to health facilities in urban areas.Sixty-five more suspected cases are being investigated in the Engela District. Of these, 33 are Angolan and 31 are Namibian. Among these, the large number of 32 suspected cases above the age of 15, and 12 cases under the age of nine months is a point of concern because the lack of immunity makes these groups more susceptible to complications resulting from measles. Such complications may include diarrhoea, pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), and conjunctivitis (commonly called ‘pink eye’) or even blindness. 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.Health officials in the Ohangwena Region have provided the NHEMC with a plan of action that involves a social mobilisation campaign to educate its residents on measles, in addition to the planned vaccination campaign. The region has also stated that it intends to embark on a campaign to ensure that children are targeted for immunisation in areas where previous campaigns did not reach the required 95 per cent coverage.To meet its campaign objectives, the region has appealed for increased support staff, including nurses, volunteers and supervisors.The Minister of Health and Social Services, Richard Kamwi, on Friday announced that training for nurses and doctors on the management of measles has already taken place, and that training in ‘integrated disease surveillance and response’ would continue in line with the Ministry’s plans of action for all state and private health practitioners in the district.’I want to appeal to all our mothers and guardians of our children younger than five years of age! Please make sure that your children’s immunisation schedule is up to date at all times,’ Kamwi said.nangula@namibian.com.na