New Delhi: According to a new global report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1.1 million children in India missed their routine vaccination against measles in 2022; This shows that surveillance for the disease is not optimal.
Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease and requires high herd immunity to stop transmission.
In the report, which included data from 194 countries, India was among the 10 countries with the highest number of babies (compared to 55 percent globally) who did not receive the measles-containing vaccine (MCV) MCV1. These 10 countries: India (1.1 million), Nigeria (3 million), Democratic Republic of Congo (1.8 million), Ethiopia (1.7 million), Pakistan (1.1 million), Angola (0.8 million). ), Philippines (0.8 million), Indonesia (0.7 million), Brazil (0.5 million) and Madagascar (0.5 million).
India was reportedly among 37 countries experiencing significant outbreaks in 2022, with 40,967 cases, compared with 22 countries in 2021.
In 2022, 33 million children worldwide missed a measles vaccine dose; Approximately 22 million children missed their first dose and 11 million children missed their second dose. Worldwide vaccination against measles reached its lowest levels since 2008 during the pandemic; this resulted in an estimated 9 million measles cases (an 18 percent increase) and 136,000 estimated measles deaths (a 43 percent increase) in 2022 compared to 2021.
“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is surprising, but unfortunately not unexpected, given the declining vaccination rates we have seen over the past several years,” said John Vertefeuille, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Immunization.
“Measles cases everywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are inadequately vaccinated. Immediate and targeted efforts to prevent measles disease and deaths are critical,” he added.
The report called on countries to vaccinate all children against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
“To continue progress towards measles elimination, all children should receive 2 MCV doses and measles surveillance should be strengthened to address pandemic-related immunity gaps,” the report said.
news source (www.thekashmirmonitor.net)
