Yemen: 2012 Measles cases

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95010/YEMEN-Surge-in-measles-deaths

YEMEN: Surge in measles deaths

SANA'A, 5 March 2012 (IRIN) - Measles has killed 126 children in Yemen since mid-2011, a consequence of the breakdown of basic health services during the year-long political crisis. In response to the big increase in reported cases and deaths due to measles, the Yemeni government has appealed for international assistance and an outbreak-response vaccination campaign will begin in the hardest-hit regions on 10 March.

?It's very sad that we were talking about elimination in 2010, and now we are dealing with an outbreak,? said Arwa Baider, a child health programme officer at the UN Children?s Fund (UNICEF).

The latest statistics from the Health Ministry at the end of February report that 3,767 cases of measles have been confirmed, resulting in 126 deaths, since mid-2011. By comparison, in the three years from the beginning of 2007 until the end of 2009, the ministry reported a total of 211 cases and no deaths due to measles.

Seventy percent of these cases, and all of the deaths, were among children under five years of age. Most of the cases and deaths have occurred in the last four months. Measles has been reported across the country, but has been concentrated in Abyan, Aden, Al Bayda, Shabwa, Dhamar, Lahj, Amran and Sa'dah governorates.

?The disease is spreading fast, reaching highly populated areas as well as areas with high levels of acute malnutrition,? Geert Cappelaere, a representative of UNICEF in Yemen, told IRIN. ?There is a very valid concern of many more deaths if a massive country-wide immunization campaign is not started immediately...?

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 126 deaths since mid-2011

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 126 deaths since mid-2011

Humanitarian Bulletin
Yemen
Issue 01 ? 8 March 2012

Measles threatening to become No.1 child killer Measles has re-emerged in Yemen in epidemic proportions. A total of 3,800 measles cases
have been officially reported in Yemen from January 2011 to early March 2012, a steep increase compared to earlier years. 126 deaths have been officially reported, and all those who died are children less than five years old. 95 per cent of deaths were reported in the last three and a half months alone. This indicates a steep upward trend according to standard international trend analysis.

The steep increase in measles incidents over the last three and a half months is due to the decline in immunization coverage and disruption in access to basic social services in most parts of the country during the civil unrest. Mortality due to measles is already very high and will increase further, especially if compounded with a rise in acute watery diarrhoea and increasing rates of malnutrition.

If left unchecked, 4,500 cases and 250 deaths could be expected in the next six months and could then escalate, according to WHO, to more than 30,000 incidences of measles resulting in 5,000 deaths per year. At the end of 2011, the measles cases rate per 1 million inhabitants was 129 for the whole of Yemen, while in Abyan it was 982 and in Aden 587. (Refer to map below).

...
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe...emen Humanitarian Bulletin - 8 March 2012.pdf

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 126 deaths since mid-2011

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 126 deaths since mid-2011

Source: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news262798.htm

Nationwide measles campaign launched in Yemen
[10/March/2012]

SANA?A, March 10 (Saba)- The Government of Yemen in collaboration with UNICEF, WHO, USAID, ICRC and other partners Saturday launched a nationwide measles campaign in Sana?a, targeting all children under the age of ten ? an estimated eight million.

This campaign comes in the wake of an outbreak of the disease in the past few months, with over 3600 reported cases and 126 children under the age of five confirmed dead...

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 150+ deaths since mid-2011

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 150+ deaths since mid-2011

Source: http://www.examiner.com/united-nations-in-national/measles-outbreak-yemen

Yemen | March 30, 2012
Measles outbreak in Yemen
Michael McGuire
United Nations Examiner


More than 150 children in Yemen under the age of five years have died from the measles since the middle of 2011, the United Nations said Thursday.

"A total of 3,800 new measles cases were reported between January 2011 and early March 2012," according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "If left unchecked, the epidemic could infect an estimated 30,000 children and cause 5,000 deaths per year..."

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 150+ deaths since mid-2011

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 150+ deaths since mid-2011

Humanitarian Bulletin
Yemen
Issue 02 ? 5 April 2012

...

Measles vaccination reaches 93 per cent in the north
The new countrywide measles vaccination programme which started in mid-March has had a very promising start in the north where it has now reached 93 per cent coverage in the target child population in 15 districts in Sa?ada Governorate. WHO reports that there is increased acceptance of the campaign by Yemeni communities due to the impact of the disease over the past 3-6 months. Parents are eager to save their children from this preventable disease. Previous vaccination campaigns only reached 80 per cent coverage. In the recent vaccination campaign the coverage of polio vaccination in the 15 districts in Sa'ada was 80 per cent.

In the 8 March Humanitarian Bulletin, a total of 3,800 measles cases were reported in Yemen from January 2011 till early March 2012, while 126 deaths had been officially reported. Figures for the reporting period have later increased ? official numbers are by end March 4,384 measles incidents and 155 deaths. The highest incidence is found in Abyan, Al Bayda and Aden.

In March 2012, five million dollars was granted from the Central Emergency Response Fund in support of a vaccination campaign aiming to contain the outbreak of a measles epidemic in Yemen. The campaign is managed by UNICEF (vaccines and social mobilization) and WHO (vaccination) in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. Further funding is now needed as campaign moves to south and central areas of the country

The vaccination campaign includes three activities: vaccination against polio and Vitamin A supplements to children below 5, and vaccination against measles of children up to 10 years old.

...

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 150+ deaths since mid-2011

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases- On the rise; 150+ deaths since mid-2011

7.6 million children vaccinated against measles
Drop in vaccination coverage a result of decline in basic services
Measles vaccination coverage declined and cases of measles re-emerged as a direct consequence of the decline in basic services in Yemen since 2011. Twenty per cent of the facilities that normally provide immunization services are no longer functioning. A huge outbreak of measles in the last quarter of last year affected more than 5,500 children across the country and caused around 170 deaths among children.
The measles outbreak is now under control thanks to a successful vaccination campaign made possible with support from the CERF, the Measles Initiative/UN Foundation and the efforts of the Ministry of Public Health, UNICEF and WHO.
Two phases of the national measles campaign were implemented during March and April 2012. During the two phases of the national campaign, around 7,649,697 children from 6 months to 10 years were vaccinated. The target population was 7.9 million children, meaning that coverage stands at around 98 per cent, according to the World Health Organization.
Response capacity increases
There are now sixty agencies and organizations based in Yemen to take an active role in responding to the acute humanitarian crisis in the country. Over the first months of 2012 several new international organizations have set up offices in Yemen.

...
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefwe... Yemen Humanitarian Bulletin - 8 May 2012.pdf

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Yemen: 2012 Measles cases

UNICEF Yemen Situation Report
Reporting period: May 2012
20 June 2012.
...
Health
 Despite the measles vaccination campaign in early March Sa?ada continued reporting measles cases: 209 in March, 170 in April and 101 up to 13 May. 93% of the cases affected unimmunized children; 66% were under 2 years old. Failure to vaccinate due to obstruction by the de facto Houthi authority, lack of social mobilization with many parents unaware of the date, place and reasons for the campaign were cited by the caregivers as the main reasons their children were not vaccinated. UNICEF is negotiating with the de facto authority and government for an unhindered mop-up campaign.
...