Tanzania: 20 measles deaths in 2011, fresh outbreaks

[Ronan Kelly]

Alarm as 18 die of measles
Saturday, 25 June 2011 11:29

By Mkinga Mkinga
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. The government yesterday announced a fresh outbreak of deadly measles that has so far killed 18 people since it was reported earlier this year.

No fewer than 1573 cases have been reported in about six regions of Mainland Tanzania as authorities struggle to control further spread of the disease which affects the skin and the respiratory system.

Confirming the report to journalists yesterday, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ms Blandina Nyoni, said the government has decided it would vaccinate all children from the age of nine months to 15 years starting October this year, as part of measures to control the disease.

The PS said Arusha?s Ngorongoro and Karatu districts, Dar es Salaam, Iringa municipality, Coast Region?s Kisarawe District, Morogoro Municipality, Kilosa District and Tanga have reported a high number of cases.

Accompanied by the director of Prevention Services, Dr Donan Mmbando, Ms Nyoni said out of 1,573 cases reported since January, children under the age of five who are at the highest risk of being affected by the highly-infectious disease accounted for 68 per cent of the total cases. Some 1062 cases were reported among children under 5, he said.

According to the PS, Arusha leads with 10 deaths and 642 patients, followed by Dar es Salam where seven have already died and 349 cases reported.

?I would like to put Wananchi on alert over a measles outbreak.... The disease mostly affects those who have not been immunised against it,? Ms Nyoni said.Public health experts say the emergence of measles in Tanzania could be part of a global outbreak of the disease which continues to spread across the world, with more cases being reported in Europe.

The outbreak is a serious setback to global health experts who believed they were close to eradicating the disease worldwide, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) has pushed the target date for eliminating it to 2015. However, many experts say the time is still not enough to vanquish the scourge.

...

Dr Mmbando said the outbreak usually occurs between September and December every year, noting however that such a trend was not noticed last year. He speculated that the current outbreak could be part of what was supposed to happen last year.

In Tanzania, the measles vaccination rate stands at 85 per cent and Dr Mmbando fears that the 15 per cent of those who have not been vaccinated could be responsible for the current eruption. He announced that the government has introduced ring vaccination to affected areas to control further spread of the disease, warning that there was no specific treatment for the disease yet.


http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/12205-alarm-as-18-die-of-measles

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Tanzania: 18 measles deaths in 2011, fresh outbreaks

Re: Tanzania: 18 measles deaths in 2011, fresh outbreaks

Thursday June 30, 2011
Local News

Measles outbreak claim 20 children


From MARC NKWAME in Ngorongoro, 29th June 2011 @ 12:00,
A MEASLES outbreak has left 20 children dead in Ngorongoro District in the last 10 weeks, the District's Medical Officer, Dr Kennedy Israel, has said.

Dr Israel said on Wednesday that the highly contagious disease, also known as "Rubeola," was first reported in the Kakesio Village in late April 2011.

He said from the onwards the disease has been spreading and that the 20 children who have lost their lives were among the 650 infections recorded in the area.

"And that is only the number of that has been officially reported but we suspect that the death toll could be higher because Ngorongoro is a vast district with much of its localities hidden in remote thickets," said the DMO.

Ngorongoro, which is mostly a conservation area with a fraction of its geographical area inhabited, has a population of 170,000 people.

The death toll figure surpasses the overall rubeola deaths reported by the government last week, whereby 10 people had died in the district, Seven in Dar es Salaam and one in the Southern Highlands.

"All the necessary steps towards containing the outbreak have been taken," said Dr Israel, adding that children in the district are currently being vaccinated with MMR immunization.

However, the efforts to vaccinate the juvenile population in Ngorongoro District is being challenged by the fact that, most of the area residents are nomadic pastoralists, tending livestock and searching for both water and greener pastures.

"As the result, whenever we visit a household or village, chances are the occupants would be gone and in the remote areas of Ngorongoro, villages are usually located up to 50 kilometres from each other," explained the DMO.

The Ngorongoro District Hospital's Health Secretary Ms Josephine Elikashe said in addition to the efforts being taken to contain the situation, her hospital had initiated outreach programmes through to educate people on how to identify early signs of measles and what action to take.

Medical experts say that there is no specific treatment for measles, but most patients with uncomplicated measles will recover with rest and supportive treatment.

"It is, however, important to seek medical advice if the patient becomes more unwell, as they may be developing the complications," they stated.

On his part, the area member of parliament, Mr Saning'o Ole Telele said while precautions are being taken on District Level, his office has taken things to higher level by presenting the matter to both regional and national levels.

http://www.dailynews.co.tz/home/?n=21265&cat=home

 

[Pathfinder]

Re: Tanzania: 20 measles deaths in 2011, fresh outbreaks

MEASLES ALERT!

11.21.11

TO :
-PARENTS OF CHILDREN AT RISK FOR MEASLES INFECTIONS
-ADULTS AT RISK FOR MEASLES INFECTION

This MEASLES ALERT message is to inform the Dar es Salaam community, especially parents of young children, that since several weeks, there has been a small outbreak of measles in some parts of Tanzania, notably Zanzibar, but in the last few week also in Dar es Salaam. At the IST clinic 2 cases of young adults (proven with blood test) were diagnosed.

A measles infection can be a serious disease for young children, who often develop pneumonia as well, and also for adults who are not immune. The incubation period is about 10 days (when there are no symptoms yet), and the patient is contagious until 5 days after the start of the measles rash.

The ministry of health has been informed and the IST clinic has been provided with a large amount of free measles vaccine to be used for the community.

More...
http://elementary.istafrica.com/?p=1303